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thinkinonsense · 10 months ago

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forgive if it’s a bit scatterbrained but hear me out… some sort of reverse corruption w old man!logan >///< i just feel like he won’t be the type of guy who’d immediately be into having a thing w young!reader. i feel like he won’t even take it seriously at first or there’s def gonna be more resistance from him, he’d probably feel initially repulsed by the idea of even beginning to think of them that way given how young they are. but reader is bold bold, so they’re gonna keep pushing and pushing until they’ve got him where they want him. but even if she’s practically sinking down on him, logan is still probably gonna be like “fuck’s wrong with you, huh? old enough to be your fucking grandfather, kid. c’mon, you don’t really want this.”

poor old man’s just too decent for his own good :(

old man!logan x young bold fem!reader *mdni

logan couldn't stand you. how young and ambitious you were; how you couldn't just take no as a fuckin' answer. you thought it was cute but logan found it rather obnoxious. you were persistent with your attraction towards the older man; frequenting the only bar in town that logan was still welcomed in.

"what are we drinking tonight, lo?" your voice was a siren song that he wished he could turn off.

"whiskey." he mumbles against the glass.

the mean glare he sent your way would've made anyone else run in fear, but not you. instead smiling up at him with bambi eyes. at first, logan thought you were just dumb, not picking up on his signals but as it turned out, you're just stubborn.

every friday night, you sat on the stool next to him. you should've been flirting with guys your age by the pool table but no, you would rather get rejected by the old man who drinks alone. at one point even the bartenders started to think that you two were together which logan quickly shut down.

"c'mon, at least let me pretend that i'm yours," you whine, swirling around your second fruity drink tonight.

"you don't want to 'be mine', kid," he said in a stern voice, similar to one you would use on a child who won't behave.

"aaand...why not?" you ask him, crossing your arms and already getting pissy. "don't gimme that bullshit about you being 'too old' either."

"has anyone ever told you that you're-"

"pretty? hilarious? tight? yeah, a few times actually."

logan sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. he tries to give you some sympathy but there's only so many times that you can burn your hand on the stove until you learn your lesson.

"look, cherry..." logan sets his glass down. you adored when he called you, cherry because that meant he was paying attention to you and what you drank, always having to top it off with a cherry. "i'm probably your grandfather's age-"

"don't care." you interrupt him, leaning forward to stare into his eyes and run a hand through his hair. "your grey hair is so hot, lo. should let me pull on it sometime."

logan was finding it more difficult to resist you. almost letting out a groan when you pull slightly. logan could smell your arousal forming; clouding his vision.

"why don't you throw your panties in someone else's direction, huh? i'm sure those boys over there wouldn't mind." logan snarls, getting fed up with your attitude.

it wasn't that he didn't find you attractive, quite the opposite really. maybe if he was younger or you were older then he wouldn't mind your flirty personality so much but that's not the way that the world works. logan is -whether or not he wants to admit it- old and he didn't have time to put up with your whiney shit.

"okay." you shrug, getting up from the barstool.

logan doesn't believe that you'll actually go talk to those boys. in one minute your ass will be back here annoying him. he was sure of it.

then ten minutes passed and giggles were still falling from your lips. nothing the guys said was actually funny but you played it up to look better. there was one guy who you actually didn't mind talking to; both of you went to the same college and shared the same major. for a second, you'd completely forgotten about the man burning holes into your side.

the two of you talked for a while, exchanging stories while you leaned against the pool table in your tiny cut-off shorts. logan watched those boys gawk at you; staring everywhere but your face.

"i know right! her class was horrible! all she did was-" your words fell short when someone grabbed your upper arm, attempting to pull you away from the guy, who you think his name was josh, or john, or jake? you couldn't really remember and you definitely didn't care.

"c'mon kid, i'll give you a ride home." logan growled in your ear.

"oh, it's okay!" you chirp like a little bird at him. "think i'll find another way home tonight."

it's just a facade, logan told himself. you were just trying to prove a point. always stubborn.

"i'm not messing 'round, kid-"

"leave her alone, old man." the kid interrupted, giving logan a push.

logan snarls, about to teach this boy a lesson but you are faster; heel-kicking him in the nuts. the boy hunched over, allowing you to be ear level with him.

"fuck off." you spit, angrily before walking away.

logan looked at you completely dumbfounded. he had no other choice than to follow you blindly outside of the bar. he found you leaning against his truck; under the dim street light, logan would've misplaced you for some angelic figure.

"mind takin' me home, lo?" you ask him, for once not acting like some horny little rabbit towards him.

he nods, fishing out his keys. you give him directions to your apartment. the silence in the car makes you think logan's mad at you for real this time. you pushed it too far, embarrassing him and yourself this time. logan wasn't this dirty old perv who would actually give you the time of day, and maybe it was time for you to face that reality.

"i just wanted to say sorry for everything." your voice is low and quiet. afraid logan won't even acknowledge you. "i know that i should've left you alone a long time ago. you wouldn't want someone like me anyway-"

the car came to a dead halt in the driveway. logan turns to face you and you fear the worst; afraid he will yell at you.

"do you seriously think i wouldn't want you?" he asks. "you haven't left my mind since the day we bumped into each other at the bar and i spilled my whisky down your shirt. remember that, cherry?"

you nod, carefully. that day was imprinted in your mind. your friends and you were celebrating your birthday when logan bumped into you at the bar on accident. he frantically apologized for ruining your white shirt which you suggested for him to lick you clean. it had been so long since someone had flirted with him that he didn't know how to react.

"i'd never seen someone look so pretty and sticky at the same time." logan's hand gently caresses your cheek.

"could've seen it more often if you had fucked me like i wish you would've." the words fall out without pressure, making logan smirk. no matter how much you tried, you were desperate for him.

"you've got one dirty fuckin' mouth, cherry."

"it gets dirtier than that."

"hmm... don't know if that's possible."

"i could show you if you like."

the offer hangs hot in the truck. logan leans back into his seat, asking for forgiveness on what he's about to do. three light taps on his thigh and you crawl right into it.

"atta fuckin' girl, cherry." he groans as you grind against his crotch and bite on his neck.

"also for the record, the only person i want to have my panties is you, logan." you purred in his ear, referring back to your earlier conversation at the bar.

"i know, sweetheart. i know." he chuckles, watching you kick off your shorts and underwear.

once your back in his lap, you unbuckle his belt and wait eagerly for him to have his way with you. yet, logan doesn't offer anything.

"if you want to fuck an old man like me then you need to get used to doin' all the work, cherry." he says, half-joking. "can't keep up with an eager little thing like you."

you knew his game. to scare you off by acting like an asshole but you didn't mind doing the work to get what you want.

"fine with me." you smile, hands inching towards the glasses that hang on his button-down. "can't forget these, want you to see what you do to me."

logan groaned when you pulled him out of his pants, pumping him a few times before aligning him to your entrance. he was a bit bigger than you would've guessed, only making you wetter. just as you are about to sink down onto him, logan stops you, holding your hips in the air.

"fuck's wrong with you, cherry? you still want this, huh?" he taunts you, only getting a whine from you in response. "such a desperate little thing."

"p-p-please, logan." your hips wiggle against his tight grip. "want you... need you."

without another word, he lowers you down onto his length. both of you moan at the adjustment. your nails claw at logan's shoulders and you feel him twitch inside of you at the pain.

"happy now?" logan groaned, watching you bounce up and down on your own. his hands stayed on your waist, squeezing at the fat of your hips. "got what you fuckin' wanted."

"mhm..." you nod along dumbly agreeing to whatever he says. too busy trying to get his white button-down off of him. frustrated, you break open all the buttons.

once his chest was exposed, you litter it with kisses and dark bruises. for the first time, logan was happy that his healing abilities were slowing down so now he can admire your artwork longer. you grab both of his giant palms bringing one hand to your chest and taking the other thumb into your mouth, licking the pad of it before moving it down to your clit. tracing circles in a way that made your head fall back with your mouth wide open.

"do you always get this wet for older men or is it just for me, sweetheart?" logan asked, fist full of your hair.

"j-just you, lo..." you gasp.

logan's lips found your jaw, kissing up to your chin before capturing your lips. he wasn't a fan of fruity drinks but he loved the taste they left in your mouth. your backs against the wheel lazily and logan can tell that your orgasm is approaching.

"don't give up now, cherry." he teased. "you were doing so good, being a perfect little slut in my lap. what happened to her?"

you were too fucked out to say anything back and he knew it. logan finally took pity on you and started pistoling into you, listening to every pretty curse word that fell from your trembling lips.

"where do you want me, sweetheart?" logan grunts in your ear, pulling at the lobe as you come down from your high.

"inside, please."

that's all logan needed to hear to spill inside of you. the warmth indescribably flooded you. the two of you collapse in each other's arms, collecting yourself for a few minutes.

"told you, i'm a good fuck." you told him, looking up at him with messy hair and an unapologetic smile.

"didn't doubt you," he says, mirroring your smile as he moves some pieces of hair from your forehead. maybe logan could see you being a permanent person in his life.

"and to think..." your words drift off as you start to move again, feeling him get hard again inside of you. "we are just getting started."

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alexiroflife · 1 year ago

Text

'stay with me'

"Across the Earth" Part 3 [finale]: satoru gojo x reader

part 1 | part 2

Synopsis: after having talked with suguru about your relationship with satoru, you find yourself rethinking everything during a night out with the group

to sum it up: suguru suggests you should confess, but you're too scared

WC: 8,997

Ten o’clock eventually rolls around after Satoru spent a good five minutes shouting throughout the house for everyone to get dressed to go to a bar. The thought of drinking or having to deal with one of your friends being intoxicated does not sound very appealing to you at the time, but you figure you shouldn’t argue considering where you currently stand with Satoru.

After your talk with Suguru, you finally managed to get your work done before it was time for you to get dressed. You rummaged through the overnight back that Satoru had apparently taken upon himself to pack for you in search for something to wear when you found the short black dress you had tossed into your luggage on a whim in case you were to happen upon an instance in which you would need to wear it. How Satoru had managed to locate this piece of clothing, you’re not even sure, but you put it on and do your makeup that Satoru also so graciously remembered to pack for you.

You glance in the long mirror by your dresser at your reflection, turning to the side to examine the accentuation of your curves against your dress's stretchy fabric with a sigh. The dress clasps around your thighs and reaches down just above your knees. You admit to yourself that you look good, but your physical appearance does nothing to sway the pit that proceeds to sink into your gut at the thought of Satoru and everything that Suguru said to you.

You’re in the midst of trying to give yourself a pep talk to mentally prepare yourself for the night when you hear Satoru shouting again for you to get a move on, his voice vibrating through the walls of the house. You assume you’re the last to get ready when Satoru doesn’t address anyone else but you.

You trudge down the steps with your hand gliding against the railing, wedges clacking against the stairs until you reach the main hallway and find your friends standing by the door. Shoko’s wearing a cropped silk shirt and a skirt with a cute pin holding up the side of her hair while Suguru, naturally, wears loose and dark pants with a black button up.

But then, of course, there’s Satoru, standing almost as a god before you in a similar shirt to Geto’s only his is a pale light blue with the first few buttons undone and sleeves rolled up to his elbows in the same fashion he wears most of his shirts and linen pants.

You immediately look at everyone but him, completely unable to withstand the gorgeous sight of him dressed up and so well.

When you walk over to them, you feel Satoru’s eyes hit you in what has to be less than two seconds, and while you aren’t looking at him, Suguru notices the way his eyes twitch wide and his brows lift ever so slightly as he looks at you, wandering eyes roaming swiftly over your figure before bouncing back upward.

“I’m here now, no need to keep screaming,” you say with a rigid face. You can’t help but let your eyes flicker into Satoru’s direction to catch his gaze for a millisecond before clearing your throat and looking down.

“We can’t take you two out like this,” Suguru groans, referring to you and Ieiri. You both look at him with quirked brows. “We’re gonna be swarmed by thirsty men the second we step outside.”

“What?!” you and Shoko exclaim as you all start making your way to the door, you, Shoko, and Suguru leading while Satoru trails behind to lock the door after everyone.

“Don’t be mad because (Y/n) and I are hot, Suguru,” Shoko snaps, poking the dark haired man in the shoulder.

“I am mad. I don’t want randoms ruining the night because they don’t know how to coexist with attractive women.”

“You don’t hear us complaining about you and Satoru when girls try to clobber you! Don’t be so sexist.”

“I’m not being sexist, I’m being realistic.”

“Can we all just agree that we’re all hot and attention will follow wherever we go?” you hear Satoru chime in cockily as he locks the door behind him. “No need to compete over it.”

“Who said we were competing? I just said that I don’t want the extra attention,” Suguru responds. You watch as Shoko climbs into the back seat, but you freeze when Suguru follows and sits next to her, leaving the only empty seat to be the front passenger next to the driver, Satoru.

You glare at Suguru out of the side of your eye urgently, and he looks up and around, pretending he doesn’t see. You seethe and swear to yourself that at times, Suguru is even worse than Satoru, which you suppose is why they are such good friends.

You force yourself to suck it up and keep yourself together like an adult. You reach for the car door handle, only to be intercepted by Satoru’s soft hand. His fingers brush yours clumsily, and you jump to look at him when you realize that you two are reaching for the same thing.

The albino man holds your gaze for a moment, watching as you mumble a timid apology instead of barking at him to question what he’s doing so close to you. He doesn’t acknowledge your words when he reaches again to yank the door open and hold it for you stiffly, just as he always does.

You press your lips together, clasping your hands in front of you and slowly stepping into the car. “Thanks,” you mumble, unsure as to why Satoru is still willing to display these gestures of gentlemanliness for you when he is allegedly upset with you, and more importantly, when he’s not goofing around with you and trying to gauge a reaction.

Satoru lingers at the door for a few seconds too long when he shuts it behind you, pressing up to it with both hands before making his way to his seat.

You arrive at your destination after a short drive, clambering out of the vehicle to enter the bar, or at least, what Satoru told you all is a bar. Nevertheless, when you push open the door and make your way inside, you’re greeted by bright lights waving violently through darkness, a crowd of people moving about in the center of the space and dancing wildly. A hightop bar surrounds the outskirts of the room, bartender tending to girls who lean on each other for stability and men who try to hit on said girls. The space is loud, as well, blasting an array of different music genres as the DJ up front nods his head aggressively to the beats.

You and Suguru falter, staring ahead of you in distaste as Satoru smiles for the first time since this morning, or so you believe. “Welcome, you guys,” Satoru beams, gesturing his arms toward the tightly packed enclosure.

“Satoru,” Suguru starts, a dangerous tone in his voice. “What the fuck is this?”

“A bar?” the blue eyed man responds as if the question’s answer is obvious, which it isn’t.

“This is a nightclub,” Shoko yells, shouting over the noise. “Not a bar!”

“Is there really a difference?”

“Oh my god.”

“What’s with the faces? It’ll be fun! Like old times,” Satoru grins, inching further into space. “We go to places like these all the time.”

“Yeah,” Suguru catches up to him to smack the side of his head, and Satoru yelps dramatically. “With a warning.”

“Well yeah sure, suck the fun out of the outing,” Satoru shoves Suguru back, the dark haired man tossing a murderous glare to him over his shoulder.

You shake your head to yourself, truthfully not even angry about the entire ordeal. You’ve spent weeks being angry with Satoru and now that you’re out, you’ve been caught off guard but you can’t say that you have the energy to care any longer. You feel Shoko lock her fingers with yours and tug you, leading you to follow. “We’re gonna go get drinks,” the brown eyed woman announces, the two of you skipping off to push through bodies to reach the alcohol.

“Don’t get kidnapped!” Suguru calls out.

Geto doesn’t miss the way Satoru’s eyes follow you intensely. He scoffs and elbows him in the ribs, Gojo bending over and clutching his upper abdomen. “What the fuck,” he wheezes.

“Get your shit together tonight,” his hazel eyed companion demands, and Satoru’s squinting his eyes up at him over his frames.

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna give me a lecture…”

“If you get it together, I won’t have to,” Suguru says.

Satoru rises slowly, face mellowing out into an expression of discomfort. “Is this about what I think it’s about?”

“What else would it be about?”

Satoru frowns. “I told you already, I’m not gonna keep making myself look stupid. If anyone’s gotta fix anything, it’s her.”

“Oh really?” Suguru hums. “You know, Satoru, it’s unhealthy to direct all of the blame to the other person

“Wh- she ghosted me!”

“And you reacted by…?”

Satoru clicks his tongue and rolls his eyes, brushing strands of white hair from his line of sight. He glances over the crowd to relocate you and Shoko, watching as the brunette hops up into a stool while you lean against the counter, that damned dress he threw in your bag without thinking lining the curve of your ass as you poke it out subconsciously while pressing against the wood. Satoru thinks he’s going to lose his mind, watching the way your foot crosses over your heel and as men stumble bass by, but not without throwing a glance your way unbeknownst to you.

Why do you have to look fucking edible tonight? Why couldn’t you have just worn sweatpants and a t-shirt and called it a night? Why do you have to look so breathtakingly gorgeous everywhere you go?

“I’d do it again too,” Satoru says to himself though Suguru can hear it loud and clear. “She just needed to be reminded that she cares about us, that’s all.”

Satoru hears Suguru release a long sigh, eyes closing and arms crossing. “You’re completely missing the point. Both of you are,” he repeats, this time to Satoru.

“What? Both of us?” he perks up at the last part of his best friend’s sentence. “What does that mean? Is that coming from whatever you guys talked about earlier? What did she say to you?”

“I’m not doing this,” Suguru stops him while he’s ahead. “I’m going to get wasted. I feel like I’ll need to with however this night is about to go.”

“No fair! I’m the designated driver,” Satoru whines, following closely behind Suguru to make his way through the crowd. “You’re all gonna drink without me?!”

“You’ll be fine, lightweight.”

“Some thanks I get for bringing us all out tonight. You guys suck.”

The guys eventually make their way over to you at the bar and find that Shoko has already ordered the two of you shots. Suguru chuckles at her hastiness and orders one more, leading Satoru to murmur incoherently to himself as he leans his back against the counter and watches you all down the nasty liquor. You all tighten your faces and scrunch your noses simultaneously, slamming the glasses down. “Alright, that was a mistake. I’m done,” you say quickly, rejecting the shot glass and shoving it toward the edge of the counter.

Satoru, from Suguru’s side, peers over him to look at you curiously. You look over at him, relaxing your face to see what he wants from you. “Done already?” he marvels, a question that holds no hint of playfulness to it. You shrug.

“Yeah. The taste of alcohol’s not agreeing with me tonight,” you reply casually, catching Suguru ordering another round with a giggling Shoko out of the corner of your eye. “Looks like I’m playing babysitter instead.”

“That’ll make two of us,” Satoru agrees, and the conversation falls short. You nod to yourself awkwardly, setting your hands on the countertop and looking down. Before Satoru can ponder saying anything more to you, the bartender returns to your section with two more shots for Suguru and Shoko. He’s wearing a small smirk as he sets the glasses down before them, slinging a cloth over his shoulder and leaning forward on his forearm.

“You guys haven’t wasted any time,” he comments, attempting to spark a conversation you assume is for the sake of tips.

Suguru chooses to dissociate, hardly in much of a social mood if it’s not with the friends he has arrived with, leaving Shoko to answer for him. “Party’s gotta start somewhere,” she shrugs, and the bartender grins. Suguru and Satoru exchange knowing, annoyed gazes. Here goes the first one of the night.

“That’s absolutely true,” he nods, turning to look at you. Satoru sees the shift of attention as fast as it occurs, and he already isn’t liking it. “What about you? You don’t wanna party?”

You tighten your lips into a harsh smile, laughing lightly with the shake of your head. “No, no, just looking out for these two.”

“Ah. Then you must be a good friend.”

“Oh, you’d have to ask them,” you point down the line of the three beside you. “I can’t say.”

“Don’t be so humble,” he needles lightly. “I’m sure you’re wonderful.”

“What about me?” All heads turn to Satoru, whose chin is propped up and his glasses are lifted above his head, strained grin on his features. “I’m not drinking either. Do you think I’m wonderful?” he drawls, and you slap your hand over your face.

The bartender laughs with far less energy he had speaking to you, suddenly busying himself with polishing a glass. “I’m sure you are, man,” he says before excusing himself to check on other customers. Shoko bursts into loud laughter once he leaves and Suguru downs his second shot, eager to become numb to everything he’s noticing.

“What? He was trying too hard,” Satoru defends, and you look at him intently, for this is the second time within a day that Satoru has interfered with a man’s interaction with you. You were so mad about it before because he was disrespecting your research partner, but now with this guy you didn’t even want to talk to in the first place, you’re taking a second look at his behavior in a different light.

The word Shoko used earlier flashes through your mind. Territorial.

What the hell did Satoru have to be territorial over when you were his friend?

“That’s his job, Satoru. He’s gonna talk our heads off to get a good tip,” Suguru reasons, wincing at the taste of alcohol fresh on his tongue again.

“I don’t give a fuck,” Satoru says rather brightly.

“God, just order another round already.”

With Shoko and Suguru on their way towards blacking out, you and Satoru remain keenly aware of the things that happen around you. The room grows hot due to the gathering and compaction of sweaty bodies dancing together.

At one point, Shoko drags you into the heat, pulling you by your hands and dancing wildly along with you. You laugh at her tipsy state, moving along with her nonetheless as people bump up against you, hollering with intoxicated joy. You allow yourself to let go for a moment, bringing yourself back to all the late nights you had shared with your friends within this exact kind of environment, screaming with each other for absolutely no reason without a single care in the world.

You recall the times Satoru would drag you to the dance floor with him, making you watch the absurdly ridiculous way he danced that had you kneeling over in laughter, hands gripping his arms as the alcohol within your system made you practically die laughing. You had always missed the way Satoru would look down at you as you laughed with your head bowed, an affectionate grin sweeping over his face as the sound of your amusement inspired his own laughs.

You look back on those memories and find yourself momentarily happy to be here, Ieiri jumping up and down before you as if she’s having the time of her life, spinning around and yelling out the lyrics to a song you didn’t even think she knew.

You’re enjoying yourself, gripping Shoko’s hand as she spins you around in turn, watching her trip slightly over her feet as she manages to do so. She’s always been an energetic drunk, you think to yourself, often matching the chaotic behavior of Satoru.

At the thought of his name, you look around to find him and see that he’s still by the bar with Suguru, seemingly poking fun at his mellow drunken state. The dark haired man blinks slowly, eyes lidded as he tunes out whatever nonsense is being spewed into his ear by Gojo. After you watch the tall man take a video of Suguru and the said twenty one year old smack his phone out of his hand, Satoru’s eyes catch yours when he picks himself up from dropping his phone.

You can feel the air thicken with tension, and suddenly, the chaos around you slows. You don’t understand what brings the two of you to constantly lock eyes, for you can’t even count how many times the two of you have made eye contact throughout this night alone. Satoru seems to watch you in slow motion, both of your smiles sparked by separate occurrences dwindling in the slightest as the concentration of your gazes consume the moment. You can feel your heart ringing in your ears, confusion, desperation, fear, and admiration gripping your body as those ocean blue eyes sink into you from across the room, dominating the hundreds of other presences far closer to you than he is.

You ponder over where all the anger you had just harbored for him went. You’re looking at him now, under the flashing pink and green lights that cross over his majestic features, and you can’t find a thing to be mad at. You haven’t been able to, in fact, since after your conversation with Suguru, or perhaps even before that when Satoru stormed out of your room.

Looking at him now, all you can see is him looking at you, the longing to have you back in his life, the hope that he hasn’t completely ruined his chances of remaining friends with you. Suguru had suggested that Satoru may surprise you if you were to confess to him, and the sentiment has your head reeling. Does he know something that you don’t? Does he understand better the reason as to why his eyes can’t seem to tear themselves off of you? As to how he manages to find you in a sea of people as if you are the only person there?

You’re a mess of confliction and heartache when it comes to comprehending your dynamic with Satoru. You thought you had understood him so well, that he’s a person of privilege who can get whatever he wants without caring how it affects others along the way, that he only stuck by your side for so long because he liked to play with your head and to test your patience. You thought you knew, but there’s a chance that you weren’t paying as much attention to him as you thought you were.

If Satoru didn’t take you seriously, why would he have remembered the foods that you like? If he didn’t take you seriously, why did he always stay the night whenever he heard of you having a rough call with your parents? If he didn’t take you seriously, why did he watch you as though you’re the only individual that exists within his line of sight, within his mind, within his entire universe?

You don’t know what to do anymore. Everything you thought you knew has been completely misconstrued, thrown into question, and you’re finding it difficult to return to the mindset you even had this morning.

You’re under a spell cast by his attention on you until a pair of women brush by him and Suguru, pausing to get their attention by tapping Satoru’s shoulder. Your smile has fallen now and Satoru looks torn, eyes flickering between you and the redhead in front of him who leans up to speak directly into his ear due to the overbearing volume of the atmosphere, Satoru tensing as he forces himself to listen. His stare grows anxious, as though he’s been caught doing something bad. You can see the slight panic hit his face as he throws on a suave facade to respond to the girl, looking subtly weary at the way her hand lingers on his shoulder.

You don’t watch any longer, ripping your eyes away and turning back to Shoko. You don’t want to know, you tell yourself. You don’t want to see, you don’t want to hear anything about what that girl could have been saying to him, leaning in close as her lips brush centimeters away from his ears. You don’t want to think about it, whether the conversation is benign or not, you can’t handle the sight. You can’t handle the still lingering possibility, no- the fear that Satoru would see you as just the same as that girl, grasping for his recognition like the rest of the world.

Therefore, you subconsciously avoid him for the rest of the night, bringing you right back to where you started.

The two of you decide that the night should come to a close when it hits one in the morning, and Suguru can barely stand while Shoko is trying to steal the mic from the DJ. Satoru has to physically remove her from the premises, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder as he makes his way to the door. You’re left to help Suguru, telling him to wrap his arm around you to stabilize himself while you lead him to the car. You grunt under his weight, removing your arm from his torso to help ease him into his car seat by holding his arms. He stumbles in ungracefully just as Satoru bends down to lower Shoko down next to him. You and Satoru sit in silence once more as Shoko rambles to herself about god knows what, and Suguru holds his forehead as though he has a headache.

When you make it back, you somehow manage to get the two up the stairs and situated into their own rooms. You huff, out of breath after having to pull Suguru into his room with a glass of water and a trash can beside his bed. You step out into the hall, closing his door gently behind you to hear a struggle a few doors down where Satoru is begging Shoko to go to sleep and by the sounds of it, she’s too busy jumping up and down on her bed. You laugh to yourself at just how different Shoko is from her normally laid back personality after a night out.

You think about turning in to go to sleep, but for the second night in a row, you don’t find yourself tired from the day. You elect to take your shoes off and head out back to the pool, sitting on the side and wading your feet in the cool water. You sigh softly and look down at the small waves that ripple with the sway of your feet, the gentle splosh of liquid filling the night air. At one point, you notice that the commotion upstairs has gone quiet, and you assume that Satoru has finally managed to put Shoko to bed.

You hear heavy footsteps slowly descend the stairs and approach from behind you. You get a feeling of deja vu from the previous night when you turn and find Satoru standing just a few feet away with a look of surprise on his features. You see that he’s taken off his glasses and shoes, likely having come to do exactly what you are doing.

“Oh,” he mumbles. “Sorry, I thought you were in your room,” he says quietly.

You shake your head, looking at the ground then back up to him. “No, not tired.”

“Again, huh?”

You nod. “Yeah.”

He hums, unsure of where to look all of a sudden. “Is… Suguru good?”

“Um, yeah he’s fine. He passed out as soon as he hit the bed,” you tell him. “What about Shoko?”

“She’s knocked out, finally,” he says. “She made sure to make it extra difficult for me, though.”

You smile gently. “I heard.”

“I swear that woman is a nightmare when she drinks.”

You appreciate the way Satoru attempts to lighten the conversation, bringing a hint of humor into something you can both laugh at. The lights inside are all out save for a dim lamp in the kitchen and the pool lights that keep the outdoor area illuminated. It grows blatantly quiet, the house still as Satoru stands in the walkway, tired, nervous, unsure.

After a few moments, you hear Satoru clap his hands awkwardly. “I guess I’ll leave you to it then,” he says slowly, and you look up at him with a hint of disappointment. “I can take you back to the city tomorrow morning so you can, you know, get back to work.”

Your lips part, (e/c) eyes glazing over in the soft light as Satoru watches you to see if you have anything more to add, but you unfortunately can’t think of the right thing to say. You don’t want him to leave, but you don’t know what making him stay out here will do for either of you. You’re in such a strange space with him, questioning whether he’s still angry with you and him most likely doing the same. The only thing that’s on your mind now is how bad you’ve let things get solely because of your love for him, and it’s eating you up on the inside knowing that as long as these feelings are bottled up inside you, the likelihood of losing Satoru as a friend for good remains.

Satoru takes your silence as a means to leave and exhales, turning to go back inside. “Good night,” he tells you halfheartedly.

“...Good night.”

Satoru stops suddenly, fists tightening at his sides. You notice that his posture has stiffened even more than it already was as he prevents himself from leaving, and you grow slightly concerned. “Satoru? Are you okay?”

“Is that really all you have to say?” he asks, whipping his head around to look at you. He’s upset again, you can tell, but possibly even more so than he was earlier. He looks angrier, more enraged as his brows furrow harshly and his eyes glow with unreleased emotion. You look at him blankly, put off by his outburst as he awaits something more from you, anything from you.

“...I don’t know what you mean.”

This does not seem to be the right answer, for it only makes him angrier. “How can you not know what I mean? After everything that happened today, you still have nothing to say to me?”

“If you’re looking for an apology about this morning, then I don’t think I did anything wrong…?”

Satoru scoffs and laughs disbelievingly, eyes widening as he stares at you as if to process the words that have come out of your mouth. He courses his hands through his messy hair in stress, astonished by you. “I genuinely don’t know what to do with you, (Y/n),” he chuckles. “It’s not even just about this morning- it’s about everything. Everything that’s led us here.”

“I apologized for trying to stop talking to you, Satoru, what more do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know, to say that you care about me?” he throws his hands up. “I mean, do you? Do you even care?”

Your heart clenches at his words, turning to bring your feet out of the water. “Of course I care.”

“Then why do you act like you don’t?”

You stand, sensing the way the conversation takes a turn into intensity. Water drips down your legs from your shins and onto the ground, the air nipping at your damp skin though you can hardly tell. “How could I possibly act like I don’t care about you?”

“Because you choose to be civil with everyone but me, (Y/n)! Suguru, Shoko, your research partner, some bartender- everyone, when I’m the one who's always been here, who’s always cared about you. Me! And you still just-” Satoru sucks in a breath, realizing that he has inched himself further toward you with each passionate stance he takes, face reddening and hands grasping the air for nothing, though what he longs to hold the most stands right before him, appearing as lost as he feels caring for you. He drops his hands to his sides, tightening the muscles in his face.

He’s hurt. He wants you to hear him, to see him, to fight with him over your relationship, but you do nothing, just like always.

Just then, your phone lights up from where it sits by the pool and rings. You jump, startled by the sound and turn to see who is calling you at this time of night. As if the universe couldn’t have hated you any more than it already did, the sight of Aoto’s contact buzzing only solidifies its discontent with you.

You turn back around and watch Satoru’s hardened eyes stare at your phone knowingly, nosing flaring. “Satoru-”

“Forget it,” he spits. “Just fucking forget it.”

“No, Satoru, wait-” you call out. You see him moving away from you, drawing himself back, and your heart drops. You don’t want him to go, you don’t want him to go.

You jump forward and grab his hand tightly, pulling him back over to you with desperation. He looks shocked at first, yet still aggravated when he turns back to look at you. When he sees your hand gripping his firmly, his resolve cracks just a bit.

“Please, I don’t know why he’s calling right now, please,” you beg him, fully aware of how pathetic you sound, but you don’t care. You’ve spent your entire friendship being angry with Satoru, and now you just want to make things right. You want to understand him. You want him to know that everything you did to harm him was to prevent yourself from getting harmed, and while you understand that it’s selfish, it’s what you thought was right. But you don’t think that anymore.

Satoru can feel his body burn from the touch of your hand. He’s so weak for you, he’s known this for a long time, but he can’t stand it. He doesn’t want to look stupid in front of you, he doesn’t want to be ridiculed for caring about you any longer. You’re torturing him, but he can’t pull away. “(Y/n),” he breathes out raggedly, eyes stuck to your conjoined hands. “I can’t do this anymore.”

“What can’t you do?” you whisper, eyes glistening over, the sound of your phone ringing eventually dying off. “I told you I wasn’t gonna do what I did again.”

“Somehow, I just don’t believe you,” he murmurs. “I can see you constantly running from me in your head and I don’t know why. I never will.”

“Please,” your voice betrays you, trembling slightly, and Satoru can not help but melt at the sound.

He’s so weak. You make him so god damn weak.

“I’m sorry,” you say.

“What are you sorry for?” the blue eyed man questions, turning into you. “Do you even know why you’re apologizing anymore?”

“Clearly I keep doing something wrong, Satoru, or else you wouldn’t be looking at me like this!” you cry hopelessly. “I know I fucked up before. I know I did, but today we have a whole other issue that I just don’t understand!”

“(Y/n), you’re the one who got angry with me in the first place.”

“Because you keep doing things that mess with my head, and I don't understand where I stand with you!” you say, and Satoru stares at you, aggrieved. “I don’t know how you can’t understand why I was mad! You weren’t in any place to talk to another guy like you’re-” you cut yourself off, but Satoru is too invested now to let you freeze up.

“Like I’m what? Just tell me!” he urges, and you slip your hand from his abruptly.

“I- UGH!” you shout out, rubbing your hands over your face. You pace around, walking in a circle in front of Satoru before settling back to where you were. “Satoru, I compare myself to you all the time. I’m always looking at the difference between where you stand and where I stand.”

The corner of Gojo’s noise twists upward in confusion. “What?” he exhales.

“Everywhere I go, I see you. I see the way people look at you, the way girls try to talk to you, the way you brush them away, all of it.”

Satrou thinks back to that moment at the bar when those girls approached him asking for his social media handle and he refused politely, claiming that he didn’t have one. “What- what the hell does any of that have to do with anything I’m saying right now?”

“I pushed away because I thought you saw and cared about the same differences between us. But I was the one who cared, who was nervous about it,” you confess. “I thought that you were always around, teasing me because you wanted to prove that you can affect anyone, including me.”

Satoru’s shoulders slump. “...You thought I was only friends with you so I could bother you?” he repeats lowly, as if the very words that touch his tongue are too dangerous to be spoken any louder.

“You have to understand, I was raised differently from you.”

“Why the fuck does that matter?” he demands. “Why would I care about anything like that?”

“I don’t know, but that’s what I thought! That’s what I was afraid of.”

“So you just lumped me into the same category that everyone else in the world lumps me in?” he says bitterly. “You saw me as someone who didn’t value our friendship? That’s what you numbed me down to?”

“I didn’t know!”

“How could you not know, (Y/n)? How could you not know that I would do anything for you?” He steps toward you, gathering your shoulders in his hands as he stares directly into your soul. Your lip trembles as you look at him, overwhelmed. “How could you see me as something so much less than how I see you?” his voice dips down, and a lump builds in your throat.

“It wasn’t like that,” you deny. “I was just scared.”

“Scared of what? You’re fucking killing me, here, (Y/n).”

“I was scared of caring about you more than you could care about me,” you tell him gently, voice sliding into a strained whimper. Pools of sapphire blue dart over your features in search of a clearer explanation, a reason as to why you’ve inspired so much pain.

“That’s what I’m scared of,” Satoru emphasizes. “I’m terrified of it. I’m terrified that you’ll just disappear one day without telling me. That’s why I couldn’t handle you ‘taking space,’ that’s why I couldn’t stand the sight of you with your research partner and not with me, that’s why everywhere you end up going, I will pathetically follow because I can not stomach the thought of you pulling completely away,” he pours out, such raw candor capturing his face.

Your heart is thrumming, caught in your eyes and your throat as tears well up into your eyes. You breathe swiftly through your nose, watching as Satoru takes your face in his hands and stares at you as though he can’t catch any air in your presence. “I pushed you away because I couldn’t stomach the thought that you’d deny me the way that you deny everyone who crosses paths with you,” you tell him, mimicking his words.

“Listen to me,” he whispers firmly. “You are the only person in this world that I would never deny. I don’t know how much clearer I can make myself to you.”

A tear breaks past your lashes and rushes down your cheek, your own emotions betraying you. You can’t fight your heartache any longer, not when the man you love is cradling your face in his hands and telling you that he would choose you over anyone who tries to come his way.

He swipes his thumb over your cheek tenderly, smoothing away your tears. “Why are you crying?” he asks delicately and you shrug.

“I just spent the last three years so scared of you not giving a shit about me,” you sigh shakily. “And I behaved accordingly, and now…” you gulp, hands trembling at your sides as Satoru caresses your face softly. “I was angry with you because you were acting possessive over me with Aoto,” you breathe out, a weight lifting from your chest. “I always thought you did things to get a rise out of me, so when you talked to him like you had a reason to be possessive, it got to me. Especially after you came here unannounced.”

Satoru doesn’t speak for a moment, studying the flutter in your lashes that are decorated with pearly tears and the way your nose twitches move when you sniffle, (e/c) eyes soaking in his being. It doesn’t take long before he notices that he’s slightly shaking himself. “Why do you think I'd be possessive over you in the first place?” he poses the question gingerly, brushing a piece of hair from the side of your face.

You glaze at him, torn. “I don’t know,” you mumble and he bows his head in defeat.

“Come on,” he breathes, looking back up at you. “Come on,” he says again, holding you tighter. “Stop making me look dumb.”

“I’m not trying to,” you tell him, truthfully. “Satoru, why did you come here?” you muster up the strength to ask him for the final time.

“You know why,” he responds.

“Tell me.”

His face relaxes, his brows releasing from their pinched state and his lips falling into a neutral stance as he continues to stare at you. “Because I’m in love with you,” he admits, and your head spins. Your pupils expand as a few more tears rush down your face, blurring the image of him that you so desperately yearn to see. He lowers his head to meet your eyes at your level, holding your head still so that you can’t look away. He looks suddenly calm as the confession rushes from him, leading you both beyond the point of no return. “I love you so much that I flew all the way across the earth for you, and I’d do it again.”

You lean into him and shut your eyes, overcome by relief and love and regret all at once. The pads of Satoru’s gentle thumbs proceed to slide under your eyes to gather the mass of your tears, smearing them across your makeup.

“I love you so much that I woke up every morning to text you, that I memorized every single class schedule you had so that I could meet with you when you were done, that I always came over to your dorm when I was free, that when you stopped texting me my heart felt like it was going to shatter into a thousand pieces, that when I heard you were traveling my first instinct was to run after you because I don��t want you to go anywhere without me.”

His words shower over you like golden rays of warm sun, easing around your heart and mending the torment that you had subjected yourself to for months on end. It’s too much, hearing Satoru Gojo list all the things he has done for the sake of love when you’ve been accusing him of being selfish all this time.

“(Y/n),” he says your name like it’s a prayer. “I love you so much that I feel like I’m going to lose my mind any time another guy even speaks to you. I can’t help but be possessive over you for those reasons. I can’t help but want you all to myself, and I know that’s selfish, but if you only see me as someone who doesn’t care, then there’s nothing I can do to change that. And I am sorry for any time I've ever made you feel like you were nothing when you’ve been everything.”

You can’t breathe. You’re completely captured by Satoru, his essence, his being, his confession. Your heart is bursting, your body is shaking, and you have no words to say that could begin to explain all that you are feeling.

Satoru loves you. He’s always loved you, and you had been so blinded by your insecurities that you hadn’t seen everything he has always done to show you that.

You open your eyes to gaze at him, his rosy cheeks and sharp eyes that send shivers down your spine, his perfect lips, and his body towering over you, swallowing you into him. You see him clearly now, and you break.

You reach out and grab his sides, pushing in to connect your lips.

Years of doubt and pent up tension wash away the moment your lips touch, and you can finally think clearly. Satoru’s eyes go wide when he feels you against him, stunned by your boldness and asking himself whether this is real or not. It doesn’t take him long to give in when he processes what is happening, and he tugs you further and returns your kiss, melting into you blissfully.

You think fireworks are going off, sparks flying, and electricity jolting as he digs his fingers into the back of your head, tilting his own to deepen your kiss and glide his glossy lips over yours. You furrow your brows, drifting into his warmth and humming softly as his mouth moves languidly against yours.

His hands move down, clutching at your waist and wrapping you to his chest, seeking to bring you into him with the hopes of conjoining souls. He’s sweet, the way he kisses you, meticulous and passionate, absorbing the taste of you that he’s been longing to obtain for as long as he’s known you. His palms smooth over your curves, familiarizing and feeling over the fabric of your tight dress, every dip in your hips and plush of your backside, smoothing over your body like a man starved.

Satoru groans, parting from you for a split second to tilt his head the other way and kiss you again, even deeper. Your mind goes numb as you wind your arms slowly around his neck, leaning onto your tiptoes to press yourself further against his mouth. The white haired man is quick to comply, tucking his arms under your thighs and hoisting them up and around his torso. You crush down into him from this new angle, hair falling over your faces as his tongue swipes against your lip, begging to gain access to yours. You part your lips eagerly, welcoming the swirl of his wet muscles around your own, moaning softly into his mouth as saliva pools over your lips.

Satoru’s whipped, completely smitten by you and the feeling of your body pressed to his, addicted to the way your dress rises up over your thighs and the outline of your underwear rubs against his pants zipper. He can feel the blood rushing down already, his face down to his chest flustered angrily as he loses himself in you, biting greedily at your lip and sucking in the delicious taste of your mouth.

He’s moving forward subconsciously, palming over the fat of your ass and pushing you further against his crotch, your pretty fingers knitting into his snowy locks and tugging at the roots. God, it’s everything he’s ever wanted, everything he’s dreamed of brought to one moment in time. The two of you repeatedly break away to push back in, mushing damp lips together in supple pecks, and you breathe a proclamation into him as he grows dizzy, the heat of your breath fanning over his swollen lips.

“I love you too,” you whisper so enticingly, so fully, and he’s moaning helplessly into you, grinding his hips up into yours. “I’ve always loved you.”

You can feel him all over you, touching you, kissing you, and you're drunk off of his affections, falling into the sugary taste of his lips and the warmth of his hands smoothing over your bare thighs.

His lips break away to find your neck, licking and biting along your skin. You tilt your chin back, allowing him further access to your throat as his lips swim over it graciously, sucking hungrily at soft patches and dragging the most beautiful noises from your mouth. “Need you,” he hisses into your neck, teeth nipping and tongue smoothing over bruises in his wake. “Stay with me, please,” he begs senselessly. “Please, baby, I need you. I’ll always need you.”

You’re nodding against him, lips falling into an ‘o’ shape as he sucks marks down to your collarbone, tugging at the straps of your dress and pulling them over your shoulder so that he can kiss all over your chest. “I’ll stay,” you promise him. “Need you too, Toru, I’ll stay. I’m not going anywhere.”

Satoru thinks he’s floating into heaven, now, blessed by your assurance and your reciprocation after having convinced himself that he would never get it. He lifts his head again to reconnect your lips, stepping forward once more only to lose his footing, foot meeting the water instead of the concrete. He parts from you with a smack and you shriek when balance is lost and the two of you are falling into the pool with a SPLASH!

Satoru doesn’t let go of you when you submerge underwater, keeping you close to him when you resurface with a gasp. The two of you breathe harshly, looking around in a stupor. Your arms are still around his neck and legs around his torso, drenched. You look over at his flat hair dripping over his face and you push it away, peeling it from his wet skin to see that he’s already laughing. You gape and whack him on the shoulder, leading him to laugh even louder.

“Satoru!” you cry and he’s giggling, curling his fingers into your skin underwater and leaning into you.

“Sorry,” he laughs, wiping away at his eyes. “I forgot the pool was there.”

“You idiot,” you shake your head, running your fingers over his cheek as he looks at you lovingly, lips stretched into a dopey grin.

“I love you, (Y/n),” he says again, dipping his head to press his lips to your forehead then to the bridge of your nose, and you’re smiling too, stupid off of his adoration.

“I love you,” you tell him and he’s squealing, gripping you tight and squeezing you to him by your waist.

“Tell me again,” he grins, and you roll your eyes.

“I love you, moron.”

“Again.”

“I love you,” you giggle.

“Again, this time with my name.”

“Satoru,” you groan.

“No, you didn’t do it right. Say ‘I love you, Satoru Gojo.’”

“You’re so annoying,” you press against his soaked chest.

“Say it again!” he demands dramatically and you huff.

“Oh my god!” you exclaim. “I love you, Satoru Gojo. Always.”

His cheeks warm, lips moving to peck all over your face. You squeak, gripping his shoulders as he peppers you with loud, obnoxious kisses, leaving you with little space to breathe. “I love you so much,” he mumbles against your cheek. “Almost gave me a heart attack. I thought I was gonna have to kidnap you or something if you kept trying to leave me.”

“You already did kidnap me!”

“And I have no regrets. Sue me,” he beams.

“Of course you don’t,” you exhale. “After all, you followed me to America with no shame. Which I knew you did from the beginning!”

“Duh,” he scoffs. “I’d go anywhere for you.”

You laugh, wrapping your arms back around him and brushing your nose against his. “You’re crazy.”

“When it comes to you, absolutely I am,” he smiles then presses back into you, lips meeting in harmony as he spins you around the water, holding you close and vowing to stay by your side for as long as you let him.

The ping off your phone disrupts the moment once more and you look over, Satoru groaning and ducking his head to your shoulder. “I should probably check that now,” you say, and his grip around you tightens.

“No, don’t,” he pleads. “Pay more attention to me.”

“Just give me a second, drama queen, it could be important,” you say and he pouts.

“Fine,” he grumbles, dragging you over through the water slowly so that you can reach the edge and look at your phone. You quickly read the message that pops up and panic.

“Oh shit.”

“What?”

“I forgot to send Aoto the spreadsheet.”

“Fucking finally.”

You and Satoru break away from each other to turn and see Suguru at the foot of the stairs followed by Shoko, wrapped up in a blanket with a miserable look on her face. It’s the following morning, and you and Satoru were up all night talking, kissing, holding each other. You had managed to take a second to send your spreadshirt to Aoto at around three in the morning, and you could only hope that he didn’t mind. At some point, you made your way into the kitchen to sit inside, and Suguru caught Satoru leaning over your seat to kiss you softly at nine in the morning.

“Well, well, well, look who's up,” Satoru announces as the two trudge their way toward the kitchen table where the two of you reside, Shoko immediately plopping down into a seat.

“Not so loud,” the brunette groans.

“So? You two finally kiss and tell?” Suguru raises a brow, moving around to fix a cup of coffee. You catch the way his eyes glance at your marked up neck and he smirks. “Or maybe more than that?”

You puff your cheeks. “Okay know-it-all, we get it, you knew about us all along.”

“To be honest, everyone knew but the two of you,” he says tiredly. “Right, Shoko?”

“Basically,” she confirms in exhaustion. “It sucked watching you two make one mistake after the other because of it.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault (Y/n) decided being in love with me was bad enough to completely kick me out of her life,” Satoru says exaggeratedly and you nudge him.

“Shut up,” you bark, and his eyes gleam as he leans over to wrap you up in his arms and kiss the top of your head.

“That doesn’t bother me anymore though because I know you’re head over heels obsessed with me,” he sings and you roll your eyes, practically suffocated.

“Oh god, this is what we have to deal with now? Fourth wheeling?” Shoko grimaces.

“Maybe it was better when they weren’t talking,” Suguru adds.

“Boo, you guys are just jealous,” Satoru brags. “After all, (Y/n) and I are in love while you two are still single. How sad,” he pouts tauntingly, then turns back to you to land a kiss directly onto your lips. Shoko cringes while Suguru shakes his head humorously.

“Just make sure you guys are quiet whenever you decide to inevitably fuck on every surface in this house,” the dark haired man says.

Satoru cocks a brow, releasing you and standing up straight. “Who says we haven’t already?”

“Alright, enough out of you,” you cut the conversation short, face bursting into flames. “I have to go back into the city this morning anyway so you don’t need to worry about us. Duty calls.”

“Oh yeah, you two are welcome to come with me, but I plan to stay with (Y/n) for the next few days at the AirBnB.”

“You mean you’re leaving us with this big ass house and no car?” Suguru questions and Satoru smiles.

“Yep. You’re welcome!”

Suguru sighs, far too tired and hungover to engage any further with this conversation. “Whatever. I’m going back to bed.”

“Already?! But I haven’t made breakfast yet!”

“I’m too hungover for this and your cooking sucks.”

“No it does not.”

“Yes it does, Satoru, it’s practically inedible. If you’re gonna let anyone cook, let it be (Y/n).”

“Why do I have to do it? I have to go!”

“Geez, Suguru. How much more sexist can you be?”

“What is with you accusing me of being sexist, Shoko?”

“Since you wanted a woman to cook.”

“I asked (Y/n) to cook because she knows how to! You don’t see me asking your ass to make breakfast, do you?”

“Fuck off. Go back to sleep.”

“I was already going to!”

The kitchen fills with overlapping voices as the four of you bicker over absolutely nothing, just like how you used to. You feel your heart warm, surrounded by the people you care about the most and questioning why you ever thought that you would be better off without them.

You look over at Satoru and smile, watching him provoke Suguru with an evil grin. Despite his hastiness to tease and to poke fun, you see now that he does it out of love, and you relish in the abundant memories of Satoru showering his love over you.

By badgering, by clinging, and by crossing the earth to be by your side.

245 notes · View notes

darling-solaire · 1 year ago

Text

Redacted Hair HCs ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

David

For David I definitely see him having roughly shoulder length hair in his younger years pre Gabes death so they could match because he always looked up to him and took pride in people saying they looked alike

However after his death I can definitely see him finding it too painful to look in the mirror and see his father staring back at him so he began to consistently cut his hair much shorter in a buzz cut style to create as much distinction as possible

After the inversion and the hectic months that followed I definitely see him being too overwhelmed to keep up with meticulously cutting his hair (he had so much else to worry about) that he didn’t even notice until one day he was cuddling with Angel after a long day drifting almost to sleep when he notices them playing with the ends of his hair and they say “your hairs gotten so long it suits you so well” and David can’t help but smile as he drifts off in their arms

+ Bonus Darlin

I think Darlin also was someone who had longer hair most their life but after leaving and going with Quinn they cut their hair short at least to jaw

When asked they’d say it’s so Quinn had easy access whenever he needed a quick fix but in reality it felt like the only thing they still had control over

I HC darlin and David as cousins so I think they would also suffer a similar issue that with their hair grown out their simply reminded too much of what they left and getting rid of it is the easiest way to dull the empty feeling but now that they’re free they definitely have started to grow it back without even realising

Sam

Sam was definitely one of those kids that were super light blond as a kid but their hair darkened with age except in Sam’s case it started reversing back to blond simply because of how often he spent days in the sun (I also think that’s how he got his freckles)

And after years of being unable to go out in the daylight those are his only reminders of how much he loved the sun

Also he definitely has a shaggy mullet

Milo

Milo has meticulously taken care of his hair since he was old enough to take care of it himself to the point that Marie had to hide her expensive oils because he would put too much on whenever he’d go out

I’d say he’s probably the most dedicated to keeping himself on top of self care (David is a solid second)

That man has naturally loose curled hair and because he doesn’t keep it very long he always makes sure to have a strategic curl hanging on his face

Milo and sweetheart definitely spend weekends piling each others hair before they shower together as a little couples activity

Babe (+Asher)

To me babe has braids and I will not let anyone fight me on that

They used to keep them in their natural colour until one day they asked Asher what colour they should do and he joked about going blond to match him and they’ve used the same colour ever since

Lasko

Lasko was definitely born with black hair and maybe it was hereditary or maybe it is all stress but that man started turning grey the second he left home

He had his guest grey hair at the ripe age of thirteen and it’s been going down hill since then

At first he was probably really self conscious about it but he’s definitely embraced it fully now especially with how often dear comments how cute it is

Anton

Anton is the type of person to not care too much about his appearance like he was the type of kid who had a bowl cut growing up because who cares about what he looks like when his mind is what actually represents him right?

He wasn’t a slob but he was neglectful at times and it wasn’t until he’d first met his partner did he ever feel the need to fix up his hair to the point where it became a twitch whenever he’d think of them

#redacted.txt #part 1??? if people are interested I will do more!#redacted asmr #redacted audio #redactedverse #lasko moore #david shaw #sam collins #redacted solaire clan #milo greer #asher talbot #redacted darlin #redacted babe #redacted dear #redacted marie #redacted my love #redacted Anton #quinn fox

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yurislotusgarden · 2 years ago

Note

Hii! could I request ranpo and chuuya with a fem s/o who makes cute bento boxes for their lunch at work? (I was curious on how this would go, feel free to add any details you want!)

My bento!

ʚїɞ Separately! Nakahara Chuuya, Ranpo Edogawa, Sigma x F!Reader

ʚїɞ Keep in mind English is not my first language, so you may find mistakes!

ʚїɞ word count: 1764 (Chuuya - 537, Ranpo - 664, Sigma - 561)

ʚїɞ Have Sigma as an extra bcs my ass forgot it was meant to be Ranpo instead of him after I was done with Chuuya's part

ʚїɞ Tw’s: None! Just pure fluff, pet names are used (barely), reader’s gender is not specified that much

Nakahara Chuuya!

ཐིཋྀ He loves the bentos so much, well more like the fact that you take time to make them for him

ཐིཋྀ Tries to always eat them

ཐིཋྀ Once, when you started making them, he didn’t eat the food because he was so busy that day, and when he had a little free time, Chuuya decided it was a better idea to go on a stress smoke break (He tries to limit smoking to the minimum he can if you don’t like smoking/the fact that he does it. He knows it’s because you care about his health)

ཐིཋྀ It ended with you fussing over him eating almost nothing that day and he doesn’t like causing you stress or making you worry so he makes sure to eat those bentos😭

ཐིཋྀ He may be an executive but this man is not embarrassed at all to eat those bentos in front of people, no matter how colorful or cutesy the food looks

ཐིཋྀ Food is food, he’s not gonna not eat cause you to worry just because the bento is one that doesn’t look like someone like him would eat

///////////////

“Lad, may I ask where do you get those bentos from?”

It was a long time since Kouyou noticed Chuuya’s bentos, and she tried to ignore just how much she wanted to try one. The only reason why she didn’t is because she doesn’t know where he is getting them from.

The young woman looked at many shops in Yokohama and saw a few places with similar bentos, but it was easy to see that none of the stores were the ones where Chuuya kept getting his lunch from.

…She really wanted one for herself, especially with how obvious it was that they were delicious, kept quiet about it tho.

Chuuya turned towards the older woman, whom he came to see as an older sister over the years.

“They’re not bought from a shop.”

“You don’t buy them?”

“Not a single one of them. Actually,-”

Kouyou was confused. Where did he get a bento from every single day? She knows the younger of the two probably wouldn’t bother spending his free time making food for lunch definitely a day before, even if he did, it wouldn’t be so colorful or detailed. There were even rice balls decorated as bears and stuff, it obviously took time to make one. But if he wasn’t buying them, then the only other option that came to her mind was-

“- [Name] makes them for me.”

“She does?”

“Yeah, and she’s yet to make one I dislike.”

It all makes sense now to the red-haired woman. You have more free time most of the time compared to Chuuya, and you were probably aware of the eating habits he had before.

The fact that you take time, quite a lot it seems if Kouyou was to guess, the bentos are even detailed, in a very cute style if she was to say, made a smile appear on her face.

“Mhm, you wanna try?”

“How could I refuse such an offer?”

The food was even better than she thought. Kouyou made a mental note to ask you if you would have a problem with making two bentos from time to time.

Edogawa Ranpo!

ཐིཋྀ Another reason as to why he’s dating you -you give extra homemade sweets to the Bentos-

ཐིཋྀ He doesn’t even need to try to remember to eat it because he ends up eating it before lunch anyway -the reason behind you making more than one bento usually-

ཐིཋྀ He fucking boasts to everyone about the food😭

ཐིཋྀ “See what I have here? HAHA! Something you don’t and probably never will!” ← totally not Ranpo to anyone else -and totally not him to Dazai and Atsushi about the fact that they will probably never have homemade food like him-

ཐིཋྀ Don’t make the bentos with him in the kitchen unless you have prepared double the amount of food you plan to use. He uses any opportunity to snack on the not-ready-yet bentos

ཐིཋྀ BUT! He will share with you if he notices you’re hungry or just generally wanna eat it <3

///////////////

“C’mon give me just a little piece!”

“Nope! [Name] made it for me! Make your own if you want a bento at work, Yosano-san!”

“I can’t make such a bento Ranpo-san!”

“Not my problem!”

With a pout, the brunette turned his chair away, trying to eat his food in peace. It’s one of his favorite bentos! You put his favorites in this one! The only thing he doesn’t like in it is the veggies which Ranpo would ignore or throw out but he knows that he won’t get his favorite candy made by you anytime soon if he does (the others will snitch if he throws them out, especially Dazai and Yosano they did that the one and only time he did so. He learned a lesson from that after you didn’t cook his favorite like you said you would that morning)

Ranpo could practically feel the eye-roll done by Yosano. “It’s not like it’s the only bento you had today.” It’s true, he ate a similar one 2 hours earlier. “Doesn’t matter. It’s my bento either way.” A sigh came from the woman.

And right when one would think his problem was solved, another arrived.

“Ranpo-san! What an interesting bento you have there!”

“Go away Dazai. I’m not giving you a single piece of my food!”

“Oh c’mon! You can spare a little!”

“Nope! Especially not when it’s [Name]’s cooking!”

Seriously, can’t they leave him alone? He knows your cooking is good, everyone at the agency knows that! But he wishes that you’d never let Dazai taste your food. The bandaged man has horrible eating habits, you both know that, and yet he always tries to get his hands on Ranpo’s bentos. The audacity!

Ranpo could tell that Dazai's annoying mouth was about to open again before someone interrupted him.

"I can make bentos for you too if you like them so much, Dazai-san"

Isn't that his angel who came to visit him at his oh-so-tiring job? Lovely timing, if Ranpo was to say, but there was one problem.

Among ‘hello’s and ‘hi’s from others upon noticing you, gasps could be heard, from 2 men specifically.

"You would do that for me?!"

"Excuse me?!"

What is this?! There's no way that you’re gracing anyone else with the perfection that are your his bentos!

“Hm?” It’s easy to see for anyone in the room that you were confused.

“[Name]-chan, if you could be so nice, could I ask for a bento with cra-”

“No no no! Shut up Dazai! She’s not making you any bentos! In your dreams!”

In the end, while Ranpo and Dazai at first thought that you wouldn’t make the taller brunette a bento after your conversation at that moment, you indeed did as a surprise.

The best detective in the world didn’t like that but he allowed you to after bribing him and reminding him that if you can get Dazai to eat, you will, no matter if Ranpo will allow you to make a bento for him or not.

Dazai's happy scream the next day could probably be heard throughout the whole building.

Sigma!

ཐིཋྀ He didn’t think he’d be able to adore you more than he already does, and yet you found a way to make him do so

ཐིཋྀ He tries to eat the bentos every day but it isn’t that rare that he forgets about eating altogether when faced with a mountain of paperwork or problems in the casino

ཐིཋྀ He loves how they look and taste. He, at one point, will ask if you can teach him how to cook. Like not even necessarily a bento, just to learn since he doesn’t want the kitchen to end up in flames one day, he’s aware he sucks at cooking

ཐིཋྀ He probably would be a little embarrassed by eating it. Not because of how colorful or cutesy they are, but because of the looks he gets from people who see it.

ཐིཋྀ The stares aren’t criticizing or anything, others just don’t expect that their boss/the manager of the casino would eat food that looks like that

ཐིཋྀ Someone was probably jealous because he has homemade bentos like that and they have some store-bought sandwiches 💀

///////////////

“It’s mine actually. Sorry, I forgot to take this from here earlier.”

The man standing in front of the bar was shocked.

He’s been sitting there and drinking not too much for some time now. At one point he noticed the bartender taking out a bento from under the bar, the lid see-through enough to see the food inside. He has to say, the detail and overall look were very cute, it definitely took time to make it look so.

The man had thought that the bento was made by someone for the bartender (In his mind it was a fair thought as he didn’t think that one could buy a bento like that anywhere close to a place like this. Especially if you work there).

The slightly shorter man changed his thought upon noticing that the bartender didn’t touch the food he had taken out (later on the lunch break he took out something else to eat)

Around 2 hours after the lunch break, -the bento still untouched, he noticed- the man decided to finally ask, curiosity winning over after all the time spent at the bar seat.

“Excuse me, who is the owner of the bento? I couldn’t help but notice that it hasn’t been touched at all.”

And he really chose the worst time to ask that question didn’t he? Right as the person to whom the bento belonged to, came.

“I-It’s yours sir?”

“Yes, why?”

How is he supposed to answer? That he didn’t think that such a cute-looking bento -that if he could he would consider stealing, it looks delicious and definitely better than his sandwich- can belong to the ever so stoic and calm manager of the sky casino?

“No reason! Was just that curious, that’s all! after all, the bento was lying here for the past, almost, 3 hours by now.”

“Ah, understandable then”

The bi-colored-haired man turned to the bartender, who was already giving the box over to him.

“Thank you for keeping it here for me, Shuichi-kun”

“no problem, Sigma-san. [Name]-san also told me to tell you-”

Yeah, the man needs a break from the confusion and shock for the next week.

And Sigma? He’s just happy you leave the bentos somewhere he can take them from when you know he’s busy.

Notes, comments, and reblogs are greatly appreciated <3

Do not copy or translate my works on/to any site

#Can't believe I realized I'm writing a wrong character only after I was done #like completely #wtf #bsd x reader #bsd #bsd x y/n #bungo stray dogs #bsd x you #x reader #sigma x reader #chuuya bsd #bsd chuuya #chuuya x reader #ranpo x reader #ranpo bsd #bsd ranpo #ranpo bungou stray dogs

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evanvison · 7 months ago

Text

For this post, I'll be going over the relationships between characters and just going over the characters themselves. *Spoilers ahead*

starting with the main character herself, Karen! She is an outgoing person who starts off kind of lazy and she doesn't try super hard to outdo anyone. Only once she starts competing in the fights does she realize she needs to work harder to beat the others. Her motivation to perform with Hikari and to never quit even when faced with the tragedy that they are destined to never get to perform together. By the time we reach the movie, we finally get to see her past and understand just how much that promise with Hikari meant to her. Then we see her spend the entire movie giving it her all and pushing forward through her past to find Hikari. When she really wants something she becomes this unstoppable force that I just love to see. Especially when our first perception of her was that she was lazy when in fact she just lost her motivation for acting. As soon as Hikari came back so did Karen's motivation.

Now on to Hikari. At the start, we see her as cold and a bit standoffish. Then we slowly learn she is just as sweet and caring as Karen, she just likes to hide it because she knows the story of Starlight is a tragedy and this can only end one way. It's like if Juliet knew the whole time how Romeo and Juliet ended and tried distancing herself to prevent it and while it saved Romeo it couldn't save her. Hikari the woman you are. If only Karen wasn't so dead set on rewriting the story. Hikari almost got away with it too. Cause who doesn't like a happy ending? Also learning that Hikari is the reason both she and Karen are obsessed with theater was so fun for her character. I love the "we swapped personalities as we got older" characters.

Brief talk about these two divas. Maya (brown hair) is such a good character! The sheer aura of power she had at the start was so well built up and while she is still incredibly talented and strong- I like how now that everyone else is improving so quickly, her overwhelming aura is now less noticeable as they are all closer to the same level as each other. She also is just so cute. The way she composes herself is precious at times.

Then there is Claudine (blond hair). She is so dramatic and her need to pick fights with Maya is always funny. Seeing her bond with Futaba (pink hair) was honestly so nice to see as a duo as well. She knows she needs to improve but she also knows that much like Karen, she would rather do it when Maya is there.

For Kaoruko (shorter blue hair) and Futaba as a duo, I have little to say other than they are such an old married couple. They fight a lot but they would die if they couldn't talk anymore. Now individually, Kaoruko is fun, she learns she has to put some work in on her own to grow as an actor. Her schemes to try and get Futaba to chase her are hilarious. Then there's Futaba. I really liked Futaba and how hard she worked to improve. She is so friendly to everyone and is honestly such a good friend. I especially liked how even though she barely made it into Seisho (the theater academy) By the end of the movie she is now attending the most prestigious women's troupe in the country.

Now Mahiru (girl above)! Oh, my poor little love-struck baby. Her love for Karen is so sweet and heartbreaking. It's adorable but also her love for Karen and her ability to shine on a stage adds to Mahiru's train of thought that she doesn't shine. Her learning that she really is just as amazing and dazzling as the rest is so nice to see. A lesson in self-love for the win! Also, to all my MaHiKaren shippers out there I love you!

On a similar note, we have Junna (purple hair)! She also suffers from underestimating herself. She tries to make up for it in her head by overworking herself and showing how amazing she is at literature and history. Then she learns that she is amazing and proves it so well in the movie. Also, her being able to notice when Nana (blond bananah hair) is acting strange is so nice because it really shows 1. How kind and compassionate Jun Jun is and 2. How close she and Bananah are.

Then we have Nana. Yes, they call her Bananah as a nickname and it's cute. Oh, all the things I could say about Bananah. *SPOILERS* I MEAN IT!! ITS SUCH A GOOD TWIST PLEASE GO WATCH IT!! So Nana is a time traveler. Once the group reached their 2nd year they got the invitations to join the giraffe's auditions. In their 1st year, their class performed the play Starlight and they decided they would keep doing that play as their performance every year until they graduated to show how much they have improved. Bananah believed that their first Starlight was the most amazing play she had ever seen and wanted to relive it over and over. Then in their second year when all the giraffe's auditions start, she learns that if she wins she will get to wish for any stage she wants. At this point, she had lost most of her motivation due to missing their old performance so much and not wanting anything to change. So when she learned she could wish to go back to that stage. Suddenly her motivation peaked and she crushed the auditions beating everyone. She won and got her wish. So time was reversed and only she remembered. She got to relive that year and stage again. Then she continued to do this over and over and over. Winning all the auditions and turning back time. We still don't really know how many times she did this. but we know she did it A LOT! At least from the timelines we see pass by in the episode. Then something strange happens and Hikari transfers into their class. She has never appeared in any other timeline. We learn this is partially due to the giraffe's intervention and magic. So Hikari enters, which gives Karen motivation and she jumps into the auditions. This means there is an uneven number of contestants and Karen and Hikari are soaring through the ranks. Then we have the Nana fights and Bananah learns that she can't keep restarting the clock. She needs to accept change.

Nana is honestly my favorite character. Her motivations are understandable and seeing her get to play the villain was so awesome she can be incredibly scary when she wants to be. That's not even getting into her arch in the movie. Boy that one is fun too! But it is just as long so I'm not doing that. I love that she is the closest to the giraffe as well. It really shows how much she's done this and shows why she is so strong.

I really love these characters and I am so glad I took the time to just talk about them here because I really don't talk about this show much for how much I love it. So thank you all for reading my ranting about a show I just love. NOW GO WATCH IT! It's on Funimation and if you don't have that they provide a free trial that gives you plenty of time to watch the show and movie (otherwise there are always other ways *wink wink*). It's only one season long, 12 episodes. Also, have a good day or night, everyone!

#anime rant #ranting #shoujo kageki revue starlight #revue starlight #karen aijou #hikari kagura #mahiru tsuyuzaki #maya tendou #claudine saijou #kaoruko hanayagi #futaba isurugi #junna hoshimi #nana daiba

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walkersbeloved · 2 months ago

Note

Head Canon of our boys' cock size! 😆

oh…best question award, you got no idea the can of worms u just opened, nd im also gonna include more physical descriptions than u asked for, but i dont think anyone’s gonna complain ab that.

simon: ok so…i need everyone to stay with me and just listen okay!! i used to be a huge pusher of simon having a very very tiny cock, but i will say i have recently upgraded him to about three/four inches…im sorry i just love the idea of him being smaller don’t yell at me. he’d definitely be a little embarrassed about it ;( he gives off the energy of someone with such a big cock, but he’s got this small package. doesn’t mean he can’t make u feel good tho…it’s also probably so soft too. just cute and plump between his thighs with visible blue veins ;((( he’s got a small thatch of pubic hair, i think. not a bush, but he’s not bare either…it’s enough to put ur nose in but not suffocate u like some others…(we’ll get there) i don’t think hes skinny exactly, but he’s not like hugely thick either…just kind of plump like i said…enough to stretch u out but nothing that’s gonna borderline tear u.

astarion: i think that he’s average size. probably 3-4 inches when soft and 6 when hard. i mean u see it in the game, so there’s not much to say i guess…

rob: obviously he’s huge. absolutely massive, need two hands to wrap around it fully, thick and veiny with big balls and a huge bush. maybe saying 9 inches is pushing it into unrealistic territory but….i think he’d actually struggle to find pants that fit sometimes😭like his bulge is so obvious even when he’s soft and it embarrasses him…he’s a whore but he doesn’t wanna be so…out like that. like imagine u put a cock ring around him and it breaks…he’d actually be so embarrassed and frustrated but you’d just giggle about it and have to find one in a way bigger size…

seb: i also think sebby is on the smaller side. he’s probably 4 inches imo, but i think that he’s really thick in the middle. when u sink down on him and get to that part, it almost feels like pushing a pussy plug inside u…and he’s got a fat mushroom head too. pretty little veins all on it :( i think he has such a pretty cock….and he’s probably not all that embarrassed about it? like i don’t think he’d be thrilled, but he’s definitely more willing to make jokes about it than anyone else😭like when he first pulls his pants down u don’t even say anything cuz you’d never make fun of him, but he just immediately cracks a joke about it and ur like ? and he gets embarrassed and flushes. he’s got a little bush…i think he trims sometimes, but he’s honestly probably too lazy to really do it much.

luke: also four inches!!!! and similar to simon, he’s definitely embarrassed about it cuz everyone thinks his cock is huge, but ;( you’d never judge him for that tho…but u do put him in cages obv. i actually love the idea of u helping the boys on the smaller side come to love their cocks. he’s got a small amount of hair too like simon nd seb…and this has nothing to do with anything, but i think his ass would be really hairy (sorry)

ernst: despite what many of u are probably expecting me to say, i think ernst is actually huge. probably around 8 inches, and shockingly he’d be soooo embarrassed about how big he is😭ernst probably isn’t super educated on bodies, there were only a few books on the island talking about that kinda stuff and they were not really all that good, and i doubt he’s ever even seen another penis outside of books, but he’s just like “this looks nothing like the penises in those books…why is it so large is there smth wrong with me?” and it doesn’t help that he’s a shower, so he doesn’t know that a lot of ppl are growers so he’s never seen a dick as big as his. ernst doesn’t have a lot of hair either—and his hairs are all light and blonde so it probably looks like he doesn’t have any at all until u get up close or they catch the sunlight.

et: mmmhh 6-7 inches probably with a lil bit of a bush.

father anthony: big…big…8 inches. oughh he’s so big and he hasn’t used it in decades because of his vow…and all of his congregation know that he’s big cuz they always see him indenting in his slacks when he’s not in his robes ;( probably has a small bush too…i don’t think he’d shave tbh, he doesn’t like how itchy it gets when it grows back.

nikolai: already talked about this a little, but i think he’s long and skinny with a lot of veins. he’s also hairless. probably around 7 inches.

charlie: :3 hi ellie bellie…yeah he’s big ofc. mmh…8 inches? i wanna say he’s a mid thickness, not skinny, but not like…rob thick yknow…nd he’s got a small bush, nothing crazy cuz he keeps it trimmed. probably super veiny too…and the tip is so so so pretty and nnnghhh…

hook: 6-7 inches with a mid sized bush.

also in my mind all the boys are uncircumcised, idc if they’re american like rob, they have pp sweaters.

#simon walker #rob extinction #luke davenport #ernst stranded #father anthony #et dalziel & pascoe #seb as if #charlie the stomach #nikolai beyond the rave #hook kia commercial

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leftoverbriocheloaf · 4 months ago

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is number 6 for the wip ask game kunikida whump??.

YES IT IS there is nowhere NEAR enough kunikida whump in this world in my humble opinion he has so much whump potential and I just wanted to write a fic where the agency realizes hes a bit screwed up and kunikida realizes that they care about him a lot :,)

Chuuya is a big player in this bc when I started writing I had j learned about kunichuu and I think it's really cute but tbh this could j be platonic or even kunichuuzai

But here's a snippet! (fair warning for dissociation/suicidal ideation/vague ocd depictions (based off my own ocd lmao))

___________

Kunikida can admit that he shouldn’t be here. It’s not a good day for him. He should have closed the agency and guided himself home, gone through the motions even if his mind had been a million miles away from his body. He should have gotten home and stayed there.

He can’t trust himself when he gets like this.

There’s no real explanation for what “this” is. Kunikida spent the whole day writing, and writing, and desperately trying to keep himself on schedule.

And it hadn’t gone... horribly. Just a bit off, that’s all. A few minutes lost here, a few there.

But it was too much. He tried to keep himself present, he really did. He wrote, he adjusted his plans until his hands cramped. He tried not to pick at his fingernails or pull at his hair when Dazai spent precious minutes asking random women for the privilege of a double suicide, knowing that every second he talked was time that they weren’t working, even though they were on the clock, and the President wouldn’t appreciate–

Deep breaths.

He knows he went home after work. He was the last one in the office—he worked overtime because he hadn’t finished the report during the day. But that was fine, he was used to that. Then, he locked up the agency and said goodnight to the woman working downstairs. He did that. Yes.

So he’d gotten home.

But somehow, he ended up here.

Kunikida hums, overlooking still waters, sitting at the only edge of the port that doesn't have a guard rail. He knows it isn’t watched at all. Dazai tried to use it for one of his attempts earlier in the week. They weren’t able to find him until hours later, after he’d floated around for far too long without running out of air.

And for some reason, Kunikida came back. He isn’t making it safer, like he’d justified himself into thinking he would. (That was what he’d told himself he would do, wasn’t it?) He isn’t keeping an eye out for anyone who could put themselves in danger by getting too close.

No, he isn’t. He’s sitting on the very edge, looking over the mockingly calm waters with the blank expression he’s seen in his bathroom mirror far too many times.

No one knows he’s here.

When Dazai first joined the ADA, Kunikida had been almost offended at having to partner with him. Not because of Dazai himself, Kunikida hadn’t known him long enough for that. But the president, while introducing Dazai to him, had explained that “they were more similar than they thought.” He said that it would make their teamwork strong.

Kunikida barely stopped himself from denying the words outright. He wasn't anything like that bastard.

Now, years later, he supposes the president was right.

Kunikida isn’t normal. A normal person wouldn’t be looking at the water—so far below that a fall would surely injure, if not kill—with anticipation. (Looking now, how on Earth had Dazai survived?)

Though it's shallower than it was before. If Kunikida cared, he probably could have connected that to their current dry spell. But he doesn't, so he only notes distantly that the area is distinctly more dangerous than it had been.

He hadn’t meant to sit down either. It just happened. But now, his legs are dangling over the water, and he’s looking down as the wind blows, just barely lifting the hem of his shirt. It’s moving him, probably, because why else would he be this close to the edge? He hadn’t started there. He barely notices as his hand takes the notebook from his jacket pocket and places it on the ground. He puts a pen down next to it, too. He likes that pen, it was a gift from the president–

“Yo, glasses,” a voice calls from behind him, breaking his train of thought. It’s a voice he recognizes, even if he can't quite place it. “Are you pretending to be that shitty mackerel or something?”

Ah, he knows who this is. Nakahara.

Kunikida laughs under his breath.

“Ha? What’s so funny?” the man asks dryly, moving closer to him. Kunikida doesn’t bother trying to stop him. He half expects Nakahara to push him off—why else would he be here? Instead, he watches as the man sits down next to him, kicking his feet back and forth over the drop. It reminds Kunikida of the way children dangle their legs on swing sets, though he guesses that to Nakahara, this fall would be no more dangerous than a playground tumble.

“So,” Nakahara starts again, casual despite every reason not to be. “What’s the agency’s golden boy doing here of all places?”

“I'm not sure," Kunikida surprises himself by responding. His voice is scratched and humorless, "Probably the same thing you thought I was doing.”

“Huh,” Nakahara hums after a long silence, long enough that Kunikida almost thinks that he isn't going to respond at all. Slowly, Nakahara leans back onto his hands. “So every last one of you is fucked up, yeah?”

Kunikida chuckles under his breath, “It appears so.”

In the back of his mind, Kunikida asks himself what he's doing. He’s sitting with a mafia member– an executive– at some unholy hour of the night, talking about God knows what. His issues? He could laugh. He might.

“Well,” Nakahara sighs, “Get up. We’re going.”

For the first time in their conversation, Kunikida turns to look at him. He notices Nakahara’s eyebags, the cut across his cheek (which is still bleeding, by the way), and the way the executive is still. Still. Waiting for him.

“Excuse me?”

Nakahara rolls his eyes, “Don’t act like you didn’t hear me. Come on.”

“Why would I go anywhere with a Port Mafia executive?”

“Do you really think you’re in a position to say no?” Nakahara moves to stand, smug. And as much as Kunikida hates to admit it, he’s right. If Nakahara really wanted to, he could knock him out right then. Kunikida's unarmed—his notebook lies flat on the pavement, and his gun is still secure in his office.

“I have work tomorrow,” he tries. He isn’t sure what he’s arguing for.

“You wouldn’t if you’d succeeded.”

“But I didn’t succeed.”

Nakahara huffs, “The Agency really makes you work in this condition? You’d think it’s, I dunno, the mafia.”

Kunikida responds on autopilot, “The Agency takes care of it’s workers–”

“You aren’t acting very convincing, detective. When’s the last time you slept?”

The question startles him. He’s used to people asking it, members of the Agency or police who see him at crime scenes, or whoever else he interacts with on a near-daily basis. He’s grown accustomed to using a bit of makeup in the mornings (an extra twenty-seven seconds) under his eyes, just to avoid having to lie. There’s too much work to do. And with half of the agency not working, it falls on him to do it. The President puts his faith in Kunikida, and Kunikida will not let him down. The work will be done, and if not by its intended recipient, then by him. Normally, it’s fine.

But he hasn’t slept in a while. Not last night, because he got a call around midnight (he’s long since changed the Agency’s after-hours number to his own cell, because help isn’t only needed in the daylight and Kunikida has a duty to fulfill) about a rioting group of teens that chose that night to make a ruckus. In the end, there were no casualties, but he had to calmly explain to a bashful looking seventeen-year-old that fireworks could not be set off without proper safety procedures in a populated area of the city at night. He met with the police, wrote the files as fast as he could. The kids were just being dumb. They’d get out sooner with an official document, and Kunikida knew they weren’t trying to hurt anyone. They just made a lapse in judgment.

He spent the rest of the night explaining to them the proper procedures (and being pleasantly surprised when they listened and thanked him). The kids were grateful, but his circadian rhythm certainly wasn’t.

And the night before that– not unless he counted the thirty minute nap he took on accident. Atsushi had been sick, and Kunikida (along with the rest of the Agency) told him to take the day off. He took the liberty of finishing the boy’s work after hours.

Maybe the night before that? He must have–

“Alright, that’s enough.”

He had forgotten about the executive for a moment.

Kunikida flushes at his momentary lapse, and sits up straighter. He tries to pick up his notebook, but it isn’t where he left it. It’s floating next to him, outlined in the red that he knows from experience means the executive’s gravity ability is active. Kunikida frowns and moves to stand up, and Nakahara grins.

“See? There ya’ go.”

But maybe he shouldn’t have done that. A bolt of pain flashes through his skull when he stumbles forward towards the notebook, and he crumples as his legs give out from under him. Fuck. He needs to get back up, he needs to go home, he needs to get back to work and actually do something because he’s so behind–

On his second attempt at standing, he falls again, and this time Nakahara scoffs.

Kunikida does not remain conscious long enough to respond.

____________________

And then much later (I'm skipping some stuff so this snippet isn't three million pages long lmao) but I figured this part is important bc it explains the plot

_____________________

“Why, pray tell, are we in France?” Kunikida can feel his left eye twitch.

Deadpan, Chuuya responds, “It’s our honeymoon.”

Kunikida’s head whips towards the mafioso, who’s grin widens at his panicked expression, “Relax, glasses. We’re just on vacation.”

He lets himself take another bite of the pastry, because he certainly doesn’t want to waste it– How tired is he? Accepting food from the enemy? At least from how he feels now, he can tell it isn’t poisoned. “A… vacation.”

“Mhm. Know what that means? It’s like a long break–”

“I know what a vacation is,” Kunikida retorts.

Chuuya makes a surprised noise, clearly mocking, “Didn’t look like it.”

The blond gives another cursory glance to the room. It’s big– and the bed he’s in takes up a solid fifth of it. The nightstand the platter had been on also has his notebook on it, with the pen he was sure he’d had yesterday. Wait–

“What time is it?”

Chuuya hums, “Give or take, nine in the morning. Four in Japan, though.”

“...Four?” Kunikida repeats dully, “I’ve been asleep for eighteen hours?”

Chuuya nods again, his expression blasé, “Clearly, you needed it.”

“This is insane,” Kunikida whispers to himself, “I’m going to be fired.”

“No you aren’t,” the redhead grins, “Welcome to the wonders of vacation.”

Kunikida looks at Chuuya blankly, “What– I still don’t know why you keep saying we’re on vacation.”

“Well, you looked real tired, so–”

Kunikida crosses his arms, and Chuuya sighs.

“Fine. Y’know, most people would be pretty happy to wake up in France,” he rolls his eyes. “But have it your way. Simply put, we—the mafia, not your little do-gooder agency—found out about some organization's plans to attack you all, and in the spirit of goodwill and comradery or whatever, decided to intervene.”

“By… kidnapping me?”

“Hey, this is way better than whatever they were gonna do. You were their first target, so Boss said I should take you and leave before anything happened. He didn’t say where, and I haven’t been on vacation in a while, so we’re in France.”

________________________

Yeah basically Kunikida is experiencing the wonders of vacation and back in japan Dazai is losing his mind along w the rest of the ADA trying to figure out where he went

My guilty fav troupe is when an overworked character is somehow removed from the workplace and everyone realizes how much they contributed and how they were Not Okay alskdjalkdjs I love Kunikida so much

#also i love when a character who's normally seen just trying to annoy someone goes ballistic when they disappear #dazai try not to show how much kunikida means to you challenge #FAILED #bungou stray dogs #fanfiction #my wips #wip ask game #bsd kunikida #bsd chuuya #bsd dazai #bungou gay dogs

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thefrogdalorian · 1 year ago

Text

The Best of Both Worlds - Chapter Four

Din Djarin x Female Reader Modern!AU

❁ Series Masterlist ❁ My Masterlist ❁ Read on AO3 ❁

Word Count: 6822 Rating: General Summary: Despite his reservations and against his better instincts, Din heads to a Star Wars convention that he was invited to. Although he fears that his cover will be blown, curiosity gets the best of Din and he can't resist attending a panel. But Din doesn't exactly find the answers he was looking for. Instead, he finds something far more precious. Something that he would never have expected... Content Warnings: None! Author's Note: This was fun to write. Middle pic is one I took in a panel at SWC last year, just to set the scene. Din was down bad from minute one and honestly it's very cute to see him so flustered 🥺!! Also adorable how similar their experiences/reactions to the convention were! Anyway, hope you enjoyed! I can't wait to post the next chapter, hopefully coming on Sunday :) Thanks again @suresnips for being my beta! I appreciate your help so, so much ♡

4. Curiosity Killed The Cat (Din's POV)

To an observer with no background knowledge of Star Wars or its fandom, it would appear that most of The Mandalorian panel's attendees were merely a little bored. However, someone more familiar with the Star Wars world may have realised that the audience had been expecting something more profound. Maybe they had been hoping for some character analysis of the titular character or to participate in a larger discussion on how the show slotted into the wider Star Wars galaxy during this talk. After all, the panel was entitled: ‘The Man behind the Mandalorian: Exploring the Identity of the Galaxy’s Best Bounty Hunter.’

Instead, anyone who had sought out this panel surely would have found themselves bitterly disappointed, as the host had reduced The Mandalorian to nothing more than its violent action scenes. The host appeared to have a fixation on the fighting which occasionally took place in the show, at the expense of all other elements.

Perhaps that was the reason why the audience, on the whole, looked so incredibly bored. Even one attendee, wearing an almost unbelievably realistic cosplay, seemed more entertained by the seams of his gloves than anything the panel had to say about the show he was surely such a huge fan of. His helmet was bowed towards the floor as his leg bounced up and down repeatedly, a sure sign of his restlessness and his keenness for this panel to be over so he could continue his day at the convention.

To outside observers – whether they knew everything about Star Wars or nothing at all – the man dressed in full Mandalorian armour was possibly one of the biggest fans of the show. After all, he had replicated Mando's costume in painstaking detail; it must have taken an unbelievable amount of effort and hours, borne out of the intense love for The Mandalorian that he surely had.

But Din Djarin was not a cosplayer… his armour was not a costume.

The suit that he wore had not been crafted due to his undying love for Star Wars, it had been cast in Beskar, according to ancient traditions, at a forge by the golden-haired woman who served as The Armorer for his tribe.

It felt strange to Din for him to sit there and be spoken about as if he was not present. Of course, to everyone else in the room, the notion of Mando being in the room with them seemed as likely to happen as it was for pigs everywhere to spontaneously begin flying. To all other attendees, Din had just cosplayed as his favourite character. Everyone else in the room did not have the faintest idea that they were in fact in the presence of the man behind the character they all loved. While the assembled group enjoyed Mando enough that they had made their way to the far corner of the enormous convention hall for this panel, they didn’t know that sitting amongst them was the man who portrayed the Star Wars character that they loved so much. Nor that the armour that they had seen so many times on their screens was right there, beside them. Close enough to touch, if they wanted to.

The thought of being amongst so many super fans almost dissuaded Din from attending this panel, which had caught his eye. After deciding to attend the convention the previous evening, Din had used his laptop to search through the events for the day as he lounged on the couch in his cottage, Grogu playing on the rug beside him. This particular panel had instantly stuck out to him, above all others that were advertised. Din had always harboured a curiosity about what The Mandalorian meant to people. But it was perhaps a more selfish interest that had motivated him to seek out this panel in particular: Din wanted to know whether the fans had any idea about his identity.

Din had intended to sneak in and hover at the back and watch the panel from there before exiting as discreetly as he entered. But things had not gone according to that plan at all. Din had never attended an event as enormous as this and had no idea how it worked – he felt out of his depth. It was a feeling he was unused to and uncomfortable with, as Din always liked to be in control and have a plan.

Ironically, it was the very show which was being discussed that had first put cracks into his careful, considered nature. Relinquishing some of that control in signing up to be The Mandalorian had been difficult for Din, as he was required to be on set for a strict filming schedule in a brand new country. The stability and money that had been offered was something Din had struggled to refuse, especially given the fact he now had an extra mouth to feed.

But as Din sat there in the room where the panel was being held, he knew that coming here had all been one gigantic, terrible mistake. It was a stupid, nonsensical idea. It had been nothing more than a rush of blood to the head, Din just hoped he would be able to leave again having remained undetected. There was an old saying that Din had heard many times: ‘Curiosity killed the cat.’ Now, Din felt as though he finally understood that phrase.

Din was furious with himself that he had put himself in the position to hear such harsh words about the show after he had tried so hard to keep himself away from all of the attention portraying a lead role in a Star Wars show brought. For a man who was usually so calculating and meticulous in his actions, this had surely been the most foolish decision that Din had made in a long while.

Even worse than Din's decision to attend this panel, he mused, was his decision to attend the convention wearing his armour. Being surrounded by superfans made Din keenly aware that if any one of their gaze were to linger long enough, perhaps they would realise that his armour was not merely a highly impressive cosplay. So in a bid to distract himself and calm his racing heart, he began fiddling with the stitching of the tips of his mustard-coloured gloves. It was a sign of the acute anxiety that he was currently enduring, but to anyone watching, his fidgeting probably indicated sheer boredom.

Din mentally kicked himself for the ridiculous decision to attend the convention wearing his armour. The choice had made the entire event even more anxiety-inducing than it needed to be. Din lamented the fact that he could have come here with Grogu and simply blended in with the thousands of other families bringing their children to the convention for a fun-filled day. True, it would have still been an overwhelming experience and Grogu may have struggled with the crowds, but at least then, Din wouldn’t have had to constantly fear his identity being exposed when someone realised that his armour was a little too screen-realistic to be a simple cosplay.

Indeed, it was the skill and dedication of other fans that had initially eased Din’s fears of detection when he had walked into the crowded hall and began moving with the sea of people to an unknown destination up ahead. Even if he wanted to choose his path, there was no way to; Din was lost amongst the endless sea of people. As he travelled down the main hall, his mouth felt dry underneath the helmet and his heart thundered in his chest as he had no idea where he was going. But once he had made it to the side and stopped briefly to orient himself, Din realised just how many fans there were cosplaying as Mando.

Din had been stunned by the many amazing cosplays he had seen. After collecting his nerves, he slowly began to move down the hall and gave a polite nod of the head to any other Mando cosplayers he passed. Most returned the gesture, in shared acknowledgement of each other’s craftsmanship. Progress had been slow, though, as Din was constantly asked for photos. Even worse were those that did not ask, but merely threw themselves at him. Some even touched Din without asking first, a gesture which made him flinch. It annoyed Din, just because he was dressed in cosplay did not mean he gave consent to be touched whenever others pleased.

Despite the host of incredible cosplays he had passed, Din knew that none of them truly lived up to his armour, his was a cut above the rest. There was no way to perfectly replicate real Beskar, no matter the incredible lengths that some of the cosplayers had gone to. He just hoped that no one would question it too deeply.

After a few minutes of walking around the main hall, Din had decided he needed some respite from the endless photo requests and eyes that Din felt watching his every move. Din found a quiet corner of the hall with some near deserted toilets and headed for them. He sealed himself into the stall and removed his helmet, grimacing at the way his hair clung to his forehead thanks to how much he had perspired due to his nerves. The helmet was climate-controlled, so the heat of the building should not have been an issue. It could not legislate for Din's emotions, though.

Each time Din moved to leave, he found that the anxiety he had felt while walking through the hall reared its ugly head. He kept telling himself that he only needed a few more minutes to regain his composure. That was until Din checked his watch and realised it was not long until the panel began.

So Din had unintentionally spent most of the time before the panel hiding away in the toilet stall in an attempt to repair his shattered nerves. At that point, it would have been so easy for Din to leave. But he knew that the curious part of his mind would never forgive him if he did not at least check out the panel. It was perhaps the best opportunity he was going to get to discover what people thought of the show, whether they liked the character and, most importantly, whether they had any theories on who The Mandalorian was.

Yet, now he was actually sitting there in the panel, he cursed not only himself for not leaving earlier, but Din also cursed Peli Motto for giving him such a stupid idea to attend this convention in the first place.

Many times throughout the panel – which was headed by a man called Jeff who wore a backwards baseball cap, despite looking as though he should have grown out of such a fashion choice several decades ago – Din had considered getting up and walking out. He had arrived pretty late as it was, only a minute or two before it began, as he hoped to sneak in and take an unassuming spot at the back. But the seats had all been filled back there, and an overly enthusiastic volunteer had guided him to a spare aisle seat about fifteen rows back from the front.

Luckily, almost everyone had been too wrapped up in watching Jeff and his cronies fumble around with technology to pay him much mind, except for the people on his row who were in awe of his ‘cosplay.’ It would have been so easy for Din to just up and leave since he was on the end of the aisle. But he was fearful that it would have drawn too much attention to him. Thus far, he had pretty much gone undetected. Jeff had not bothered to look at the audience too clearly to notice the incredibly realistic Mandalorian that was currently in the room with him. Which was unsurprising, given how self-centred the man appeared to be. The panel really ought to have been retitled ‘The Jeff Show.’

Most of the panel had been pretty inoffensive, if a little dull. Din silently objected to the way that Jeff had reduced the show down to only its violent components, rather than engaging with it on a deeper level. At times, Jeff was so close to understanding what the action scenes demonstrated about Mando’s character and the wider politics of the galaxy. But then he would just make another crass comment about how good Mando was at killing and all progress would grind to a halt.

But then Jeff opened up the floor and invited the audience to step forward to the mic so he could hear comments from the fans. Din leaned forward in his seat, excited to finally fulfil the purpose of attending this panel and hear what others thought of the show that he had poured so much of his heart and soul into. But if Din was expecting to hear positive feedback, he was about to be bitterly disappointed.

Frustratingly, most speakers took their opportunity to address the audience to do nothing more than complain about never seeing Mando’s face or knowing his name. It was no surprise to Din that people felt that way, even if he was a little disappointed that people were so fixated on those two elements. Din knew it had been a concern at the beginning of the show, during early production meetings. But thanks to some input from Din himself, the character of Mando now felt more fleshed-out than he had when Din had joined the project.

Plus, Din felt as though viewers could understand enough about the character and his intentions without needing to know his name or see his face. It was a belief that was being challenged by the attitudes of the attendees of this panel. But Din was not too upset. After all, he was more concerned with whether any fans had any viable theories about his identity. Mercifully, none of them appeared to have picked up on any rumours. When the show's creators told him that no one suspected that Din Djarin was The Mandalorian, it appeared they had been telling the truth.

Fortunately, despite the name of the panel, there had been no speculation on Mando's true identity thus far. Despite the panel's title hinting that the man behind the Mandalorian would be discussed, that had so far not transpired. Things appeared to be looking up for Din; not only had there been no speculation as to his identity, but none of the audience had noticed the incredibly realistic cosplay that was sitting amongst them.

That was until a young man with brown hair, dressed in a Mando t-shirt and jeans stood up and moved towards the mic. His comments started positively enough, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love the show and all,” The man confessed, and Din smiled slightly underneath the helmet. However, he continued: “But I just feel like we don’t know that much about Mando. It’s as if we, as an audience, are being held back from connecting with him fully because of some diva’s selfish demands to keep his identity hidden!” The man exclaimed.

Din felt his blood run cold. He swallowed thickly, feeling bile rise in his throat. He should have known that this was a bad idea, that coming here was a mistake. But the man was not quite finished, yet:

“Seriously, the guy who plays him must be such an asshole. Imagine having to work with that guy!” He ended his tirade, to a smattering of laughter and applause from the room.

The accusations that he had thrown Din’s way, about him being an asshole or a diva – a charge that in particular made no sense, as surely a diva would want their name and face to be plastered everywhere – had been like a punch to the gut. And Din had endured many of them throughout his life to understand exactly how painful they could be.

Far from the kind words he had been expecting, instead, Din had been forced to listen to various people slander both the show and him as a person. Din’s heart ached as he heard the charges being levelled against him; it was one thing to criticise the show but to call his character into question caused a whole other level of pain. If they only knew why he had to keep his identity a secret, they would never throw such cruel accusations his way.

Din wasn’t naive. He knew that by signing up for a Star Wars show, his life would change forever. It was not a decision that he had taken lightly. Especially given that his way of life was opposed to everything the mega-corporation that now owned Star Wars stood for. But it presented an opportunity to not only secure a consistent income and better life for himself and his son but also to showcase his culture to the world. It was an opportunity that Din really could not turn down. However, just because Din was prepared for his life to change in some ways did not mean that he could ever be prepared to be attacked on such a personal level.

At that moment, Din almost tossed aside his priority to remain hidden and not draw attention to himself as he debated walking out of the panel. After hearing such personal attacks against his character, Din was so close to just upping and leaving that room. He had heard enough. If there was even one more vaguely harsh word tossed Din’s way, it might have tipped him over the edge.

Despite the tough exterior that Din Djarin projected to the rest of the world, he was at his core, a fairly sensitive man. He knew that the things that he had already heard about himself would take him a long time to come to terms with. He couldn’t bear to hear any further unkindness.

Din planted his feet firmly on the floor and began to lean forward, preparing himself to leave. It seemed that in a war between his mind and body, his body had won… his subconscious was going to make him stand up and storm out of that room, against all rational thought.

In all of his anguish, Din had missed the girl who had stormed forward to the microphone, dodging limbs and hurdling bags, to stand before the room.

But then she began speaking and her presence became impossible to ignore any longer; her voice was shaky with nerves but there was absolute conviction and certainty behind every word.

And Din was frozen to the spot, utterly transfixed. Suddenly all thoughts of leaving exited his mind.

“I think tying Mando’s identity to his name and face is a pretty narrow way of viewing how we can understand who someone truly is inside and what exactly motivates them. I mean, I think I’ve connected to his character pretty well without ever seeing his face or knowing his real name. That’s because Mando has proved time and time again what kind of man he is,” The girl argued and Din found himself instantly relaxing and leaning back in his seat. “The way he has risked his life multiple times to rid the galaxy of threats and evil shows that he is committed to securing a brighter future, even if he is not around to see it. This man is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Sure, we don’t know his name or face or a lot about his origins, but I think to us, that should prove that he has nothing but noble intentions. That human side of the man beneath all of the armour allows us to connect to him on a far deeper level than just seeing a face and learning a name ever could,” She finished and Din shut his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. Unbeknownst to her, the kind words she spoke had soothed Din's soul. She had begun to heal the wounds that were opened by the previous speakers' harsh words.

Din noticed how nervous the girl seemed and the way she fiddled with her hands as she stood at the microphone. He marvelled at the way she had been up like a shot to defend the character, though. Plus, judging by how eloquently she spoke, Din assumed she was used to this.

Din sat there and listened with a small smile on his face, shaking his head slightly in awe as she launched into a passionate defence of the character. Unlike all previous speakers, the girl understood just as Din did, that seeing someone’s true intentions and the qualities they possessed mattered more than knowing their name or what they looked like.

Suddenly, Din began to feel a lot lighter. People did care, people did love and appreciate the show and they understood Mando as a character. He was pleased by that fact. Din knew he would stay now. Even if the next speakers reverted to being less than complimentary, the girl had bolstered his confidence and soothed his bruised ego enough to stick around.

Din expected that the girl would retreat to her seat after giving her opinion. The awful man who ran the panel certainly seemed to think that was the case as he met her passionate speech with empty platitudes, which Din thought bordered on the patronising.

However, what she did next caused Din’s jaw to drop beneath his helmet. The girl did not return to her seat. Instead, she spoke up and continued to defend not only the character of Mando but also the man behind him.

Din listened in awe as she started speaking up to defend the man who was, unbeknownst to her, sitting only a few feet away.

“Also, I know no one outside this room will probably ever hear what had been said at this panel, but I think attacking the character of the man who portrays Mando, simply because he wants privacy, is unfair. I think we should always talk about people, online and publicly, as though they can read or hear what we say,” She argued and Din almost snorted at that assertion.. if only she knew that he was right here. “We don’t know why he won’t say who he is, but I trust that he has his reasons. Even then, he doesn’t need to have a good reason. Everyone is entitled to their privacy for the simple fact of wanting to be private,” The girl appealed to her fellow fans. Din felt tears pool in his eyes at her beautiful sentiment. Until she came along, he had been about to leave, with his last memories of the panel, believing that everyone hated him and thought he made the show worse. Now, though, he was listening to a passionate, eloquent defence of his character.

The girl finished off her speech with a comment about the show. She explained how Mando respected everyone that he encountered in the galaxy and left the places he visited better than he found them. She implored her fellow fans to take the same lessons from the show, rather than focus on the violent, action scenes. When she was finished, Din wanted to stand up and applaud her, before rushing up to her and thanking her from the bottom of his heart.

It was clear that she understood exactly what The Mandalorian was truly about. The show was, at its core, about respecting others and learning to peacefully coexist. Mando was fighting for a better galaxy, a kinder galaxy and once people understood that, they would understand how important it was to respect the actor behind the Mandalorian.

Din had an overwhelming urge to make his way over to this stranger, to thank her from the bottom of his heart for standing up for Mando so passionately. He knew, given his cosplay, that he could easily pass as an enthusiastic fan.

Then Din remembered who he was and settled on the upsetting reality that he couldn’t take such a reckless action.

If he spoke, she might recognise that the voice beneath the helmet was the very same one that she had no doubt seen on screen so many times. It was too great a risk and, much as Din would have loved to thank her, it now seemed as though their paths would diverge without her ever knowing how truly thankful Din was for her words and how much they had done to boost his confidence. Ultimately, although it was sad, Din knew that it was how things had to be. The risk was too great.

Although for the short time remaining that Din would remain in her orbit, Din was determined to commit every inch of her to memory, so that he would never forget the woman who had unknowingly done so much to him. Din was determined to impress her on his memory on the off-chance that their paths would one day cross in a scenario where he might be able to get to know her. After all, Din was a man, and he was not immune to the fact that she was a beautiful woman, perhaps several years younger than him. But her beauty was not just skin-deep; it was to be found in the way she spoke so eloquently. How she addressed the room with such maturity and wisdom. To Din, it appeared as though she had lived several lifetimes.

Now she had sat back in her seat, Din could only appreciate the back of her profile, though he had noticed the cute slope of her nose and her plush lips as she made her way back to her seat. Din focused on her hair. It looked so soft that he wondered how it would feel against his skin as he nuzzled into her scalp and pressed a soft kiss of gratitude there.

The T-visor had its perks, as no one else in the room was any the wiser to how intently Din had affixed his gaze to her, much like Mando did when tracking a bounty. Din found that, even if he had wanted to, he could not look away from her. He watched quietly as her friend whispered excitedly to her. She was only a couple of rows in front of him and was almost close enough to reach out and touch.

Perhaps that was how Din could make her feel his appreciation in a low-risk way, through a simple touch. He wondered whether he could put his hand on her shoulder on the way out and convey his thanks with a nod of his helmet the way Mando would. But that was another fantasy that would not come to pass, as Din knew that when this panel was reaching its conclusion, he had to make straight for the doors before he got swamped by any of the enthusiastic fans in here. He had seen the way throughout the panel that the number of people who had spotted his incredible ‘costume’ had increased. Din knew he was drawing many eyes.

Despite the overwhelming urge inside him to thank the girl, Din knew that he had to keep moving through the convention centre. Cutting a dedicated path, scything his way through the crowd like the methodic warrior he was.

So, when Jeff started wrapping up the panel, Din sprang straight to his feet and strode towards the doors, before a single soul could say anything. There were a few excited faces and murmured gasps as he strode purposefully towards the exit, but fortunately, no one was quick enough to stand up and thwart his quick exit.

Bizarrely, even though he was unused to being around so many people and had initially found the experience overwhelming, Din found that after the panel, he felt far more comfortable in the larger, crowded spaces at the convention. In a small room, there was no privacy. Anyone and everyone could look at him, their steely, judgmental eyes burrowing into him. They know… he had been constantly thinking to himself throughout the panel. But of course, no one was any the wiser to his true identity. Even if the panel's attendees thought that the costume was realistic, the idea of the real Mandalorian attending a convention dressed as himself was too far-fetched to be real. Even the most imaginative fanfic writer could not come up with such a ridiculous plot.

So, Din found himself physically relaxing as he made his way back to the main hallway. His shoulders were less tense, his jaw unclenched. After he left the panel, Din had not intended to linger much longer. But as he found himself wandering around, stopping for more and more photos with eager fans who were so blown away by his ‘cosplay,' Din discovered that he began to almost enjoy the attention.

There were so many children here too. Some were not much older than Grogu. Din wished he had brought Grogu with him, but he knew that the convention would not have been a welcome environment for his precious son, especially given his nervous disposition. But Din knew with absolute certainty that Grogu was having a pleasant afternoon, he was being looked after by an elderly man named Kuiil, who was a babysitter that the studio had initially put him in touch with. Kuiil was always dependable and happy to help Din out whenever he needed him to take care of Grogu, no matter how little notice Din gave.

Din was gradually growing in confidence as he strode through the main hall of the convention centre. Now, when fans asked for photos or even launched themselves at him without asking first, Din found that he was less nervous. To every request, Din just nodded. When people thanked him, although they didn’t always – Din occasionally wished he could speak to remind them to mind their manners – Din made the same gesture. A simple nod said so much, without saying anything at all.

Din would never speak while wearing his armour. To most, it perhaps came across as an incredible amount of dedication to cosplaying the character – Mando, after all, was a man of few words. But the reality was that Din knew his voice could blow his cover.

Ordinarily, Din rarely feared his voice would give him away as The Mandalorian, as his Mando voice was distorted somewhat by the helmet, so the difference was sufficient enough for Din to feel confident that no one would realise he was Mando. But surrounded by superfans at this convention, in the very helmet that would distort his voice to make him unmistakably sound the same as Mando, Din deemed it far too great a risk to take.

After stopping for photos and fistbumps with enthusiastic fans of all ages, Din was finally ready to make his exit, much later than he believed he would have initially. Ultimately, Din was glad he had attended the panel and not rushed off earlier in the day when he had felt so overwhelmed that he had been driven to hide in the toilet. Although the panel had not been an entirely positive experience, it had been worth it just because of her.

And to think, Din was so hurt after the comments some fans had made about him at the panel that he would have missed out on feeling all the love and appreciation for Mando, had it not been for that girl who took a stand and raised her voice in defence of him. Her words had allowed DIn to feel lighter, freer and as though he wanted to open himself up to the love the fans were prepared to show him.

The day at the convention had been an amazing, eye-opening experience. One that was far out of Din’s comfort zone, something that he never would have believed he could do for himself. But now he realised that he had also stayed far longer than he had been expecting. Din wanted to get back to his son. Grogu was usually settled and happy for the first few hours, but Din knew that it would soon begin to veer into the territory where a meltdown may be more likely.

Plus, Din had finally had enough for the day. He was accustomed to wearing his armour for long periods – it was like a second skin, after all – but he hadn’t sat down, nor removed his helmet for hours. Despite his increased confidence, the fear of being discovered lingered. The fear that his ‘costume’ would be sussed out set him constantly on edge and was draining him far more than a heavy suit of armour could.

So Din began making his way to the exit through the expansive main hallway. He almost made it through without stopping, until he noticed a massive banner with a photograph of himself on it. Din stopped for a second, looking up at it as he remembered the day that photo had been taken. It had been a nerve-wracking experience for him, he was certainly not a model, but they had needed some promo shots. So Din found himself there, posing awkwardly in front of a professional photographer who was barking orders at him and wondering when arms and hands had become such awkward, cumbersome things. Din would rather have spent an entire day throwing himself into walls without a single break before repeating the experience and had informed The Mandalorian's creative team as much. So future photoshoots were completed with a body double wearing a copy of Din’s armour. The photo on display was one of the few that was him, though.

Din stood there for a few moments, smiling proudly at it underneath his helmet before a small voice caused Din to stop reminiscing over the gigantic poster and abruptly turn on the spot to face the direction of the voice.

“Excuse me, could we take a photo with you, please?” A timid voice said. In response, Din felt every hair stand on end as he instantly recognised the person who the voice belonged to.

It was the girl from the panel, staring at him with absolute admiration and adoration. He stood open-mouthed and gawked at her for a few seconds, stunned to be in her presence once again. But then her beautiful features changed. She frowned slightly and then Din realised he had been standing there, frozen, as he stared at her in disbelief. She had taken his silence and inaction as a dismissal and almost retreated before Din snapped out of his trance and nodded quickly. He wanted to tell her how wonderful she had been at the panel, how much her words had meant to him. But everything happened so fast.

Din felt his heart rate quicken as the girl moved to stand next to him. Her arms hung by her side somewhat awkwardly, just like Din’s had in the photo on the poster that he had just been admiring. She was too nervous - or perhaps polite - to sling one around his shoulder or waist. Din wouldn’t have minded though, there was something imperceptible about her that made Din want to be drawn into her orbit. She had a magnetic presence.

Din barely remembered to turn and look up at the girl’s friend who was taking the photo, his ordinarily calm and composed mind had been catapulted off its axis by her presence. The girl went to step away, but Din raised a hand just in front of her body to stop her from moving off.

“Wait, let me… pose properly,” Din choked out, forgetting his vow of silence in a moment of recklessness. He held his breath for a few seconds, but if she recognised his voice, she did not acknowledge it. Din released a shaky breath, trying not to be frustrated with himself. After all, Din had only good intentions. Out of everyone he had taken photos with today, she deserved the best out of them all.

“Oh, thank you!” The girl laughed and smiled appreciatively as she took her place back by Din’s side.

Din placed one hand on his belt and leaned in towards her, hoping that the picture turned out to her satisfaction. They stood there side by side, almost close enough to touch. At that moment, Din wanted nothing more than to remove his helmet and bare his face to the alluring woman who had publicly spoken so eloquently in his defence and been equally polite in their more private encounter. But even if he had wanted to, they were out of time. Their few seconds together were over.

“Thank you! Your cosplay is amazing, by the way! It looks so realistic!” She said with a shy smile as she stepped away. “I think there’s a cosplay competition at the Twin Suns stage this afternoon, you should seriously consider entering. I’m sure you’d win!” The girl said encouragingly.

Din nodded stiffly, struck by her manners and how genuinely excited and encouraging towards others she seemed to be. Both traits mattered deeply to Din. But there were also nerves behind his suddenly restricted motions as he once again feared his cover being blown. Din supposed that it would be unsurprising if it was the same girl from the panel who had shown such a passion for the character was finally the one to connect the dots.

Despite the momentary panic caused by her comment about how realistic his costume was, Din was still amazed by how sweet she had been. The way her eyes shone with genuine excitement as she approached him and yet, she managed to maintain that respect for him that other attendees did not. So many people rushed up to Din when he was in this costume, without even stopping to ask his permission for a photo, let alone take a second to look at him or politely thank him. The fact she had thanked him and complimented him and even spoken encouraging words about his cosplay proved to Din that she was one of the politest attendees.

Din had a few more seconds to appreciate being in the girl’s presence as the friend she was with stepped up to have a picture with him. The girl’s friend seemed more confident than her in the way she posed, she seemed to know exactly what to do. But Din was paying her no mind. Instead, he glanced at the details of her face he could see from behind the phone – complete with Mando case – that she was using to take the photo. Din noticed the spark in her eyes, the way they lit up when she looked at him. She probably didn’t realise just how much Din could see in the helmet and that he was staring directly at her, noticing the look of awe she wore on her face.

“Thank you,” The girl’s friend said with a polite nod and the two walked off.

Din stood for a moment, watching them as they went. They flicked through the photos, jumping up and down excitedly as they looked at one. They were just out of earshot, but Din could tell how excited they both seemed by the pictures they had taken together. He smiled beneath his helmet. Knowing that he could bring such joy to others was a phenomenon he had lived in blissful ignorance of for most of the time since he had been cast as The Mandalorian, the only exception being when he had visited that children’s hospital a few months previously.

Today had opened Din Djarin’s eyes to the impact he was having out there, on so many different people. It was a debt that he owed to her, a debt that he knew he would, regrettably, never be able to repay.

Perhaps, in another reality, Din would have run after her, stopped her and confessed how appreciative he was of her kindness. He would have told her that he wanted to get to know her and asked her on a date if she was single. Maybe she would have been momentarily taken aback, given the bizarre circumstances of him wearing a full suit of armour and running up to her at a convention like that. But hopefully, she would have given him a chance.

They would have gotten to know each other, and gradually fallen in love over the next few months. Perhaps, if things went well, they would have lived a long and happy life together. It felt so real, for one fleeting moment, that Din could almost see their future together.

But that was ridiculous. In this reality, Din watched from behind his helmet as the outline of the girl he felt himself so drawn to grew smaller and smaller before eventually being swallowed up by the crowd.

She disappeared into the distance. Out of view, and out of Din’s life.

Next Chapter

Taglist: @toxic-seduction

#my fics #tbobw #din djarin fanfic #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #the mandalorian x reader #din djarin fanfiction #mando x reader #mando x you #the mandalorian fanfiction #pedro pascal characters

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cheritzssebba · 30 days ago

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Cheritz Appreciation Week 2025

Day Six. Prompt: Thank You

I'm almost at the end of my college course, so with the amount of new time on my hands, I'm replaying Mystic Messenger. Gonna 100% get all the endings n stuff, super epic

Yeah I didn't rly plan a particular submission for this prompt so I'm just this started as a ramble, but I guess it just turned into a really long winded letter to Cheritz that they're never gonna read <3 thanks for reading, if anyone does at all. It's very long.

Thank you, Cheritz!! Mystic Messenger is how I found you. Silly thing. My friend introduced me to it, I played it, didn't understand that I had to choose just one character, got the bad ending where everything goes insane. Very cool. I'm not a person who likes dating sims because I wanna fall in love - it wouldn't take me that long to realise I was aroace soon after playing - and then I got the good endings as well as I think only one more bad ending and enjoyed the rest of the game thoroughly. I love a good mystery, perhaps MM was my introduction to my love of mystery? And a fantastic story as well, the characters have always been amazing and so well-fleshed out

Then I finished MM and bought Nameless cuz I wanted to see what else the creators of MM had made and it was absolutely beautiful. At present, I have over 760 hours in Nameless from replaying it. I remember playing the demo multiple times over, trying to get a different ending, not understanding that I had to buy the full game for that. I was like 14 fr....

But I've never stopped loving Nameless. I remember at the beginning thinking that Lance was the true route and that Nameless had something to do with Shinbi because their hair colours were similar.....no. Lance was my favourite, then Yeonho, then Red, but rn he's tied pretty solidly with Eri

I cried when my dad said he wouldn't buy Dandelion for me..I see I haven't changed. He bought it for me after I cried..I see he hasn't changed either

I played Jieun's route first but didn't have an issue with understanding the game because of 'spoilers', I just loved it. I never got a bad ending until playing Jisoo's route, where I got stuck and just decided to give up cuz I wasn't as interested in Dandelion as much as I was with MM and Nameless anyway. I think anyone can tell that from the fact I can't remember who would've been my favourite.. I tried to get Seven's route on my first play of MM, but Dandelion? Idk

After that, my fav Cheritz game went back to being MM for a while and I really liked Seven. I shipped Zen with Jaehee, and Seven with Yoosung, and I still do, super cute. But these days my favs from MM are Zen and Jaehee <3

I went back to Nameless being my favourite after that, replayed it after I finished playing it and replayed it again and again and again and frequently rewatched Meli's play throughs of it too

I looked back to the MM wiki to find the chatroom timings I need to 100% the game, and that's where I was shocked to realise that Another Story came out in like 2017 or 2018..that's insane to me, cuz in my memory, it's always felt like it came out a long time after MM but actually it was only about a year or so..huh

I did play V's route when it came out but I didn't really like V and my schedule wasn't really optimal for it etc, so I don't think I ended up playing Ray's route? But from that I ended up liking MM less and less. Mostly for the fandom and how people love MM but won't think to play Nameless or Dandelion, and they'll write you off if you try to bring the previous games up

I hated how Another Story was clearly so different to the original story, and thought it was all because of the fanbase having too much influence on the company. I've honestly ALWAYS hated when people would cry for a V, Ray or VANDERWOOD route cuz I never saw the point in it, and how the routes wouldn't even make sense for the game, etc

So I wrote Another Story off for a long time cuz of that, but now I realise that just because Cheritz made it to please fans, that doesn't mean that it's not completely irrelevant and stuff that's added to the game in post can still be 'canon', relevant and be used to understand the Cheritzverse a lot more

I thought a very similar thing about The Ssum when it came out. I was very excited for its release but became disappointed and bored quickly upon playing it. It didn't have strong mystery, story, character etc for a long time. That's not the kinda story I like... Also, way too long. The format of Mystic Messenger is already so difficult and now they've just made it longer..stupid

But currently, through other people, I've found that it does have mystery, story, some character, relevancy to the Cheritzverse, and even multiple endings. Multiple endings is one of my favourite things....... I still might never 100% Ssum, that's how I like to play games I love these days and so if I can't 100% then, well. Isn't there like over a year of content for it? Ugh. I'll probably have a go at playing it every now and then when I'm finished with getting all the endings of MM, bleh

That's basically the history.... I love Cheritz. I love mystery, I love the relatable and realistic characters, I love the themes even if the newer games can be a bit clumsy with how they handle them. It's all in the intention, cuz I think even if they're using AI, which they shouldn't, I don't think it's cuz they don't care, but cuz they're just struggling. I'm disappointed in them for charging subscriptions for crappy Ssum but the fans have shown that they'll only pay attention to their mobile games and they're free to play, so how else will they get their money?

I have autism.... I'm very autistic about this company and have been for almost a decade now. It's my biggest special interest and I'll never stop loving it - I have 2 tattoos that are both inspired by Cheritz. I've collected all of the Nameless DLC as well as all of @moonlit-sweet-dreams and @oriyume fan merch, and have been slowly collecting some of the merch, and I'm deadset on at least getting my own Nameless Crobi Doll one day, no matter how long it takes, no matter how difficult it is, no matter who I have to find them from. I WILL get a Red, at the very absolute least. That's what I hope..

For MM, I got the RFA Member Package for my birthday either last year or the year before? It couldn't have been that long ago..but I also am currently wearing an offbrand merch of a 707 tshirt my mom got me for Christmas, and own a jacket of based on his design. Both we got from Amazon..

I don't think I own anything Dandelion sadly, but I keep all my Cheritz stuff in a drawer dedicated only to it :3 it will one day fill up. I even keep the packages they were delivered in, included as souvenirs... God, the autism is strong in this one

Cheritz...... You did a thing. And ever since you did a thing, I have been there. I'm just an autistic guy who loves his autistic thing. Thank you.... I've supported you in the past and I'll keep supporting your forever.

I'm sad about you forgetting your old games but only promoting your mobile ones, but I can even forgive that because I understand how hard it can be for a small company with so little time on their hands.. Oh well. That just means it's up to me to fill that void. You won't mention your other games; Melizbeauty, who was a staple of the community, was forced out and can't return; a lot of people who played the first games don't talk about them anymore, and a lot of new fans refuse to listen

I'll be here though. With my tiny little passionate community. With my best friends. You can come and you can go, but I'll always be here if you ever wanna come back.

I worry that maybe I'm why people don't interact with the community. Maybe they just wanna be casual fans and don't wanna see the same bloke talking about Nameless every time, always talkin about crap they don't care about, connections to other games, askin for interaction, whatever

Maybe that's true, maybe that isn't. It probably isn't, it's not something that makes that much sense. Whether people want me to or not, someone has to keep this thing alive, has to keep the old stuff from being forgotten, has to tend to this place like a garden that's dying but still is salvagable, even with its weeds crawling up the cracks everywhere and the sunlight that's never there. Someone has to do this job..and if it ain't anyone else, I ain't complainin if it has to be me, so oh well. You want somethin doin, you do it your bleedin self, that's how I see it

Thank you, Cheritz. I can't speak for everyone, but I think we love you. I do at the very least. I've loved you from the moment I met you. I love you now and always will

It's always that cliche of saying "you've changed/saved my life" and sure, I guess it's not like it saved me from a dark period or anything extreme like that. But it's true I guess I can't imagine my life without Cheritz. Maybe that's only cuz it's something I've dedicated almost a decade of my life towards tho but I'm about to dedicate even more years to something because of it

The special interest of mine that rivals Cheritz is languages and linguistics, my favourite being Spanish. I frequently have visited Spanish speaking countries with my family and have never thrived as much as I ever did when I was learning Spanish in high school, where I achieved an effortless A+

I've missed that feeling so much. I'll say it again only because it's seriously true, but I have never found more joy in anything than when I was in my element, studying Spanish. Since the pandemic, I haven't even really been able to visit the country and nor have I been able to study it in education, so it's been a while and although I do love Spanish still, I have fallen out of love for it, and don't see too many opportunities for me pursuing it, or at least with as much passion as I did

Because Cheritz is a South Korean company, I started learning Korean. I just started doing it for fun, but I didn't know how easy or fun it would be for me. What could be better than combining one's biggest special interests?

I didn't know what I would be doing after college, I had absolutely no clue. But I considered studying Korean at university for a bit. I travelled over two hours by train up north and stayed overnight to attend an open day for a uni that my college advisor had recommended. The place was great, the people were lovely, but...

When I was in that classroom, with the Korean teacher and one of the senior year Korean students, with other people who were also considering the course. When we were in that room, doing a taster session of the course

That's when it was. That's when that feeling came back. That feeling that I felt all the time in high school. And I really am tearing up as I'm writing this goddamn rant cuz I'm so so so so fucking happy for that purest pure joy to come back..

It's been so long since I felt that absolute happiness. On that day, even getting something wrong was fun because I was learning even better for it, talking to other people who were as passionate as me, who were on my wavelength........

I never knew how much I missed that feeling. But I'm so excited for it to come back. I know this is what I want to do and I'm so glad I'm blessed with this opportunity for it to come back. It's going to be so different and it's going to be so hard, new place, new people, new responsibilities, a two hour train ride away from home.

But I just know it's all going to be so worth it.... I'm going to be in my element again. That feeling is going to come back

And it's only because Cheritz introduced me to the language...

Thank you, @cheritzteam from the bottom of my heart. You'll probably never read this, let alone respond. But I would feel so grateful just to know that you know I'm there

I'm sad not many people have submitted posts for this fan event I'm hosting, but that won't stop me from hosting more. I'll continue to do what I do all the time, because of you, Cheritz. You were the first link in that chain.

Thank you.

Love from your long time fan,

Sebba.

#cheritz #my post #nameless the one thing you must recall #dandelion wishes brought to you #mystic messenger #the ssum #cheritz fan event #cheritz fan week #cheritz appreciation week #cheritz appreciation week 2025

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1fanficgirl · 3 months ago

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Conversations by the sea side

Hades and Hook friendship

Main ship Hook x Bridget

Background ship morgie x fay

Rated G

Summary: Hades gets to meet James's mystery lover as well as almost learning about another one of his friends secret relationship.

(Sequel to Serects told at night)

To James it felt like ever since that talk with Hades. He feels that they have become closer as friends, even though technically they never hang out one on one but there is always a silent sense of camaraderie between them while hanging in the group. There was an -

"I'm ready to leave!!!!" A very excited loud and bubbly voice breaking through his train of thought.

James looked over to take in his princess's holiday outfit.

Her hair was done up in curly pigtails, the dress was a simple bubblegum pink wench dress with white detailing, and to top it all off a hot pink frock coat. Absolutely stunning was all he could think.

"You look beautiful my dear , anyways we will start to load everything up on the ship once Morgie and Fay get here, So leave your suitcases in here." James explained.

"Wait I thought you said that neither of them would be able to spend holiday with us?" Bridget was confused but waited for a response putting her suitcases near the bed.

"They aren't but I know Morgie wants Fay to get some more magic practice in before they do Marlin magic camp are whatever, So I might have hinted to him that I would need help loading the ship up and that levitation spells are maybe the easiest way to do it." James stated.

"Awwww" Bridget could not help but find it sweet that he wanted to help out a friend.

"What?" James looked at her loss .

Bridget walked over to where he was standing and gave him a quick kiss.

"Nothing, you're just too cute my love." And those were her final words as she left skipping out of the room leaving her pirate lover standing there confused but grateful for the kiss.

Later at the docks

"You're doing amazing sweetheart just keep your wand hand steady and focus!" Morgie yelled trying to encourage Fay.

Just off the shore James observed the magical couple. He noted how Morgie's energy was completely different with fay instead of his rambunctious and hyper persona that he was with everyone else. With Fay he was calm...well as calm as Morgie could be there was also a feeling of delicatessens that he when with her.

Reflecting on his own relationship he wonders if his dashing and cunning self changes when he's around Bridget. Thinking about the similarities made him realize that both him and Morgie fell in love with someone who was too good for them, but he was also happy that his best friend could relate to the romantic situation that he was in.

"Yo, need some help!" A familiar voice asked

James shook out of his thoughts to track where the voice was coming from. He looked over his shoulder and shockingly saw Hades come over to where he was standing.

"So do you?" He asked again

"No thank you, Fay seems to be doing pretty good so far" James said not really paying attention to whom he was giving this information to.

"James I can't believe you tricked a little fairy do all your heavy lifting." Hades joked.

"I would not make anyone like Fay do my dirty work, I respect the magic users of the land too much to flat out trick them, She's doing it because she needs the practice" James answered.

"You know I truly wasn't expecting Fay to be your secret girlfriend." Hades mentioned

"What! I'm not dating Fay, how did you even come up with that conclusion?" James had a deep appreciation for her as a person but everything was a mutually platonic feeling between the two..plus he might be a little scared of Morgie.

"Well she's the only other person here so I put two and two together" Hades explaining his logic.

Noticing that Morgie had left to probably get some food.

"I see your point but she's just here to help with mine and Bridget things besides she's already spoken for by Mo-" James shut himself up. Morgie never actually told anyone about his and Fay's relationship, James only found out by complete accident, So it was not his secret to tell.

"Wait it's Bridget, How the fuck did you get the heart of the princess of hearts? She's the kindest person alive and you are you." Hades was in disbelief.

Hades was trying to wrap his head around Hook's words. A flash of pink ran pasted him.

"James! I'm sorry for being late I ended up getting distracted by having a on the spot tea party with Ella, Does Fay or Morgie need help with anything moving!" Bridget rapidly babbling on.

"Shhhh My love you're running out of breath and might pass out." Hook looking into her eyes trying to calm her down.

"Umm, Hi it's nice to talk to you and apologize for all the bullying that you went through" Hades pulling out his hand to try to greet Bridget, hoping that she wouldn't be scared of him or hate him.

Without hesitation Bridget reached out her hand with a warm smile "Hello Hades it's very lovely to talk to you on a personal level and thank you for the apology."

"Are you okay my love?, you haven't spoken in a while." A worried Bridget asked.

James looked on at what was to him as the euphoric scene of Hades and Bridget's interaction, finally his two worlds were meeting. All the stress of keeping his VK image up, as well as trying to keep Bridget from harm was gone.

" Yo captain your ship is ready to be sailed though the seven seas! Morgie said in a very stereotyped pirate voice, earning a quiet laugh from Fay.

Before James could let out an explanation Morgie ran up to the trio.

"Okay then I'll meet you on the ship,My captain" Bridget joked and ran off.

"Perfect, I was thinking about how lovely the ocean breeze will feel once we get to set sail." James said trying to hide the real reason he didn't want to ruin the hopefully blossoming friendship.

"See you in two weeks Hades" James said walking his way to the ship.

"See you later, oh and James don't forget to write while on your little adventure." Hades answered back while walking in the opposite direction.

#descendants bridget #descendants #disney #hook x bridget #bridget of wonderland #captain hook #morgie le fay #fanfiction #descendants fanfiction #queen of hearts #disney hades #disney descendants #Disney fairy godmother #descendants fay #morgie x fay #fay godmother #descendants fairy godmother

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vnonsense · 4 months ago

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Little Mornings

Mix stirred slightly, flailing his hand around to find his phone. He still had a few minutes before his first alarm would go off. He settled back on the pillow and felt a hand wrap around his stomach, holding him in place. 6:15, the chime of his alarm started, gradually getting louder. He shut it off, the next one not going off for another 15 minutes. It always took him forever to actually get out of bed, so he set multiple alarms at different intervals depending on the day and what he needed to do.

Today he did need to manage to get to the office at a decent time, but the other person occupying the bed was going to make it even more difficult than normal. Mix shuffled to turn around and face the sleeping figure next to him. Cash’s soft curls were all over the place, his eyes shut and mouth slightly open. Shallow breaths showing he was still deep in sleep.

Mix put his palm to Cash’s cheek, rubbing his thumb just under his eyes. Cash instinctually moved closer to Mix, whining a bit as he buried his face as far into Mix’s neck as he could. Mix wrapped his arms around the body, dragging his body impossibly closer to his. Mix kissed the top of his head and started to run his fingers along his back.

Cash stirred and looked up at Mix. His tired eyes insanely cute. Mix couldn’t help but coo at him. “My beautiful boy~” He said as he kissed his nose. Cash buried his head into Mix’s neck again, still unsure of how to not get shy when he’s complimented like that. “How’d you sleep?” Mix asked, lips almost brushing Cash’s ear. “Mmm, I slept great. Having a personal heater in my bed helps a lot” Cash smiled as he looked up at Mix. He touched the younger's face again, holding him steady so he could look at all the details of his skin in the darkness.

Cash’s skin was speckled with acne and scars, tiny freckles in random spots, a little hairs along his chin. Mostly things you wouldn’t notice unless you really stared at his face. Mix kissed his nose again, overcome with feelings of needing to keep him safe and warm. Mix would give anything to just stay here in bed all day with the boy, but he knew his alarm would be going off soon, and he would actually need to make his way out of bed to even think of getting to work on time. Not to mention he knew Cash needed to work on some edits to his manuscript that his editor told him about yesterday.

“I know it’s selfish of me to say this,” Cash’s voice cut through Mix’s thoughts. The younger pressed his forehead to the older’s. “It makes me really happy when you choose my room to sleep in. Makes me feel. Special. Like a book you can’t help but go back and reread.” Mix was known in their house for rarely even sleeping in his own room, opting to find someone else’s bed to take over. He said he slept better that way, and the members of the house, at one point or another, have all come to terms with him invading their space. If anyone had a particular issue with him staying with them on a certain night, he would just shuffle to someone else’s room and try again. Cash and Mix being on similar sleeping schedules made it so it was more often cash asleep in Mix’s arms than anyone else in the house.

Mix watched as Cash’s smile spread across his face. He suddenly threw his arms around Cash’s body, causing the small boy to squeal. “I don’t think it’s selfish to want to feel special, no matter the circumstances or relationship dynamics” Cash put his arm around Mix’s waist and kissed his collarbone in response. Mix’s second alarm rang, causing both men to groan. Mix bent awkwardly, twisting to eventually shut up the alarm while Cash clung to him. Mix laughed as he moved to hug him back. “Time to get up” Mix said as he patted Cash’s hair. “Hpmf. Fie or mins” Cash’s voice was muffled from having his head face down between Mix’s shoulder and the pillow. “Common, my little kola, we can get ready together, yeah?” Cash perked up a little bit. “Yeah”.

#vspeaking #writing #and company #oc

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skzhocomments · 1 year ago

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Mafia Book #2 - PART II - The Withered Rose - Chapter 2 - A chance meeting

Story masterlist - please consult it for the summary of the story, trigger warnings etc.

General masterlist

PART I - The Black Iris

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Wattpad | AO3

Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

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PART II - The Withered Rose

Chapter 2 - A chance meeting

chapter word count: ~3.3k words

~present day~

~Emilia’s POV~

Okay, this looks nice enough! I smile, looking proud at my flower arrangement, then I glance around the small flower shop and notice something’s missing. “Ivy, baby, where are you?”

I stand up and look around the flower bouquets, when I finally notice my cute, almost 3-year old daughter squirming happily under the sun rays in the street.

“Ivy, how many times have I told you not to go off like that?” I pick her up in my arms and scold her softly, and she pouts.

“I want play!!!” She wiggles and tries to escape my arms, but I’m stronger.

“A-ha! You thought you could escape! No wayyyy!” I squish her cheeks and kiss her little mouth, and she starts giggling.

After playing with her for a little longer, it’s time to get back to work and put her back down.

“You better stay here where I can see you.” I scold Ivy again, and she picks at the hem of her dress and looks at me with her big brown eyes and a little pout.

She’s way too adorable, but every time I look at her, I can’t help but notice the similarities between her and her father.

She looks so much like Chris that it’s scary. From her curly hair and brown eyes to the way her mouth curves when she smiles. Hell, even their dimples are the same.

A small pang in my chest distracts me, and I almost don’t notice a customer coming in.

“Ciao!” I say as cheerfully as I can. It’s hard getting used to Italy, to never hearing your own language and to everyone treating you like a foreigner. They don’t discriminate or anything, but I still feel out of place.

Sure, the sun is nice, people are not too bad either, but… after living my little dream of the ‘perfect life’ for a while, I can’t say I don’t miss the thrill of the rush a Mafia would provide.

Maybe I was never made for the quiet life, after all.

Still, I’m no longer alone. I have to take care of someone else as well, and Ivy should never have to grow up the way I did.

“Hello.” The woman replies, and what a delight to notice she isn’t from here either. This small town doesn’t have many visitors. It’s boring to never see any different faces, so this young woman is at least a break from the mundane.

However, I can’t deny how good it is to never have visitors. It makes it a good place to hide. You can never be too careful. As much as I want to trust Jeongin, I can’t be sure if he has actually told anyone that I died, or if he dug a grave for me.

“Oh, a foreigner.” I say back, trying to stop getting distracted. It hardly works, though, as I keep going back to my old life in my head. Years have passed, but I’m still in the same place mentally.

I wish things were different. I wish Chris never betrayed my trust, and I wish I didn’t hate everyone.

I wish I knew what happened to Felix. Did he make a full recovery? Is he still bed-ridden?

Did he even make it?

“Yes, you as well?” The woman asks with a laugh, and I turn my eyes back at her just when Ivy starts running happily to be picked up. “Oh my, you have such an adorable daughter!”

“Thank you, she’s 3, and a menace!”

“Is that so? Are you making mommy upset?” She asks Ivy and pinches her cheeks, and Ivy is really happy with the attention. We’re too wary of strangers to really get close to anyone, so besides me and Wooyoung, there really isn’t anyone else to play with her.

“So, would you like to buy some flowers?” I divert my eyes to the many flowers around us as I start picking up a few, about to recommend something.

“Oh, yes, I’d like a-”

“-bouquet of white lilies, please.” I hear and freeze.

It can’t be…

I’m hesitant to raise my gaze. If it really is him…

But it makes no sense. What would Minho be doing here?

How did he find me?

My inner turmoil lasts about a second when the woman’s voice confirms my suspicions.

“Minho?” She asks, and I drop everything from my hands and rush towards Ivy.

I have to get her away from the woman.

Minho is here for me.

She knows him.

Fuck.

I try not to ponder on how he found me, as I am already distressed enough remembering Chan’s words from years ago.

“I’m gonna give you some time to pull yourself together… and when your world’s sweetest, I’ll hunt you down with everything I have.”

Fuck.

What if he’s been looking for me all this time, and sent Minho to get me?

Fuck.

All this time, I tried not to think that I’m at the top of his murder list. I tried to trust Jeongin. But now that Minho is here…

Fuck!!!

It’s not the time to be weak. I need to protect Ivy and get the fuck out of here.

I don’t hesitate to hit that bitch right in the head and make her go unconscious, and then I pull Ivy behind me.

“Emilia.” Minho whispers, eyes large. “It really is you.”

He begins to walk towards me, which sends me spiralling.

“Step back.” I threaten, making sure to keep Ivy from going to him. She just wants to play, but this would be a game of death. “Why are you here?”

“I should be asking you that. What the fuck is this, Emilia?”

He takes another step further and I glance towards my desk. I left a gun there, just in case.

“I told you to step back, Minho.”

“I just want to make sure my wife is okay. Damn, why did you have to hit her?” He sighs.

“Wife?”

Don’t lower your guard, Emilia. It’s Minho. He’s not your friend.

“Yes. We’re on our honeymoon.”

“Don’t bullshit me.”

“I’m not. It’s true. Where the fuck are your manners? Tsk.” He tuts.

“Should’ve taught her how to fight if you didn’t want her getting hit.”

“She knows how to fight.” He mimics my tone in slight annoyance. “She just didn’t expect you to attack her, for fuck’s sake. Neither did I. Aren’t we old friends?”

“Drop the act, Minho. I know he sent you. How did you find me?”

“Find you?” Minho snorts. “I didn’t even know you’re alive. And what the fuck is this? Chan’s child?”

“No.” I deny. “It’s not his. It’s my husband’s.”

“Husband?” Minho laughs. “Good one, Shade.”

“I’m not joking.”

“You might be married, not that I care, but that child is definitely Chan’s. She’s his splitting image, for fuck’s sake.”

“You’re wrong.” I say, and my voice shakes a bit. The urge to mutter a curse under my breath is stronger than ever, but I keep to myself.

I want to shoot Minho.

I reach to my desk, but fuck, he’s faster.

“Let’s be civilised, yea?” He asks, holding his own pistol in the air directly towards me. “I know what you’re trying to do. Don’t. If you promise me you won’t reach for your gun or whatever weapon you’re keeping in that drawer, I’ll put this down.”

“Aren’t you here to kill me?”

“Shade, I really had no idea you’re alive! That little fucker lied to us!”

“Jeongin?”

“Yes! Jeongin! I even went to your grave. He dug it up quite nicely.”

“Had fun asking for forgiveness?” I chuckle spitefully, and Minho rolls his eyes.

“I don’t want to talk to you with my gun pointed to your head. We have history. I want us to talk as old friends, okay?” He says, then puts his gun back in his holster. “Felix told us the truth. We know it wasn’t you. We fucked up.”

“So, he’s alive…” I smile to myself, ignoring Minho’s words completely. I’m really happy to learn Felix didn’t die.

“He is. He’s doing so well, Shade!”

“That’s good news.”

“It is. Feels even better now that I know you’re not dead either. Aren’t you curious about how we’re doing? How’s Jeongin? Han? Seungmin? Everyone else? I sure as hell have a lot I want to ask you.”

I stay silent for a few seconds and watch him closely. He seems to be telling the truth. Jeongin truly lied for me, and kept this lie up all these years, even without me there.

That’s a comforting thought.

Minho is right. I want to know what everyone is up to these days.

“They say curiosity killed the cat, you know?��

“But curiosity brought it back.”

“Hah. Fair point, love.”

I am suddenly reminded of an old conversation between me and Chris, that took place when we first met, when I was on my death bed after the suicide mission my former boss sent me to, and he was on top of me, keeping my hands tied and forcing me to look at him. When I had yet to learn his name and fall in love with him.

It seems that I never learn, and I am still as curious.

What a funny thought.

However, curiosity alone is not the only reason why I ponder a moment too long on Minho’s offer. It’s not like he would let me go too easily either. If it’s one thing I know about Minho, it’s that he is really persistent when he wants to know something.

“Okay.” I say after a little while. “Let’s go inside and talk. You can take your… wife off the floor as well.”

“Place her there. Make yourself comfortable.” I wave my hand around the living room and sit down at the table, holding Ivy in my arms. She’s restless, trying to wiggle her way out and play.

To my surprise, Minho joins me immediately, eyes stuck on mine, instead of tending to his wife.

It seems like I won’t get out of this no matter what.

After a few seconds, he starts looking intensively at Ivy.

“Fuck, she really is Chris’ daughter. They look the fucking same. Why are your genes so weak, Emilia? She doesn’t take after you at all.”

“Thank you.” I say, my tone laced with irony.

“Hello baby, I’m uncle Minho.” He leans towards Ivy and sticks his tongue out at her, and she is quick to want to play with him. I immediately get a sense of danger and involuntarily move her a bit further away.

Minho is one of the deadliest men I’ve ever met, and there can’t be anything good about her playing with him.

“Wooyoung!” I say loudly, and a few seconds later, the brunette man comes in.

“What is it?” He asks, and then scans the room and freezes. “Emi… what…? What is he doing here?” He looks panicked and I see his eyes frantically looking around the room.

The gun you’re looking for is in the middle drawer, idiot. I think, but shake my head instead. I don’t necessarily want him to try and threaten Minho. He would laugh at him anyway.

Wooyoung has never been a fighter, even when he was part of a mafia.

“Oh, do we know each other?” Minho smirks.

“No… I know you, though. You’re Lee Know… from Stray Kids, right?”

“Yes.” I reply. “It appears we have some visitors. Minho, I introduce you to my husband, Wooyoung. He was in ATEEZ before...”

“Before Scarlet Rose took us down.” Wooyoung shows a brief smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Anyways, can you take Ivy for a bit? It’s time for her nap anyway.”

“Sure.” He nods and I let go of my daughter, who happily runs away towards Wooyoung with a bright smile and a “Daddy!”.

Minho furrows his brows at me. It’s like he feels that I want to keep her as far away as possible from him.

“And when you’re done putting her to bed, can you come take a look at her?” I point to the woman lying unconscious on the sofa. She’s probably okay, but it wouldn’t hurt to check.

“Do you also want some coffee? Snacks?” Wooyoung asks with a roll of his eyes.

“Come on, don’t be like that. You’re a doctor, that’s what you’re supposed to do anyway, no?” I frown. “But coffee does sound nice!”

“Fuck off.” He grabs Ivy and leaves.

“Can’t believe you’re really married.” Lee Know says when they’re gone, with a small laugh and a shake of the head. “How did you make him want to raise another man’s child? Unless you tricked him to marry you, lying that he’s the real dad.”

“You’re accusing me of such vile acts, like you haven’t already figured out that it’s a fake marriage.” I roll my eyes.

“Obviously I have. Everything about you is fake, Emilia. Your marriage, this happy, tranquil life. Hell, even your death. Still can’t believe I fell for that one.” He says in a joking tone, but I can’t help but feel he praises me a little.

“Yeah, well, what can I say?” I chuckle.

“Is your name fake as well? What is it now, Amelia, Emily, something along those lines?”

I shrug.

“I know what wasn’t fake, though. Our fellowship.” Minho replies in a serious tone.

“Fellowship?” I let out a laugh.

“Yes.” He nods.

“Yeah, well, all that fellowship went out the window the moment you thought I shot Felix. You didn’t even care to listen to me.”

“I didn’t even meet you that night.”

“And thank God for that, I might’ve not managed to run away if you did.” I retort, and he presses his lips in a tight line.

“… Touché.” He says after a few moments.

Seems like I won.

“What happened to you, Emilia? How did you get here?”

“Where should I start?” I chuckle. “This feels so weird, Minho. I never expected to see you again. Nor did I want to.”

“I did want to see you again, though, and I’m glad I did. Feels like fate. Who knows, you might even want to come back with me. Don’t you miss home?”

“Home? What home? The home that threw me out, threatened to kill me?” I smile. There’s a bitter taste in my mouth.

“He didn’t do it, though. That’s a first.” Minho shrugs. “You’re the only person he’s ever spared, actually.”

“What, didn’t he forgive that two-faced bitch Hyo?” I ask, amused. Saying her name is no longer that difficult. Time does patch some wounds and stops them from bleeding.

“No. She’s dead. As soon as Chris found out what really happened, he went berserk on her.”

I don’t know what to say for a moment, and I’m glad for Wooyoung’s brief interruption as he brings two cups of coffee and checks on Minho’s wife.

“What did you kick her for?” He asks with a shake of his head signalling disappointment.

Well, that’s not new. Wooyoung and I aren’t exactly on good terms… He’s only still here because of Ivy.

“I thought Minho came back to finish something he couldn’t a few years ago, so I tried to protect Ivy.”

“You and your impulsive reactions. You’ve always been like that.” He rolls his eyes then stands up. “She’s fine. She’s probably gonna have a big headache when she wakes up, but other than that, I doubt she’s badly hurt. We’ll check more when she’s awake.”

“And when’s that?” Minho asks, crossing his arms.

“No idea. You probably have enough time to talk things through.”

“Wanna sit with us?” I ask, but he shakes his head.

“Nah, I’d rather watch Ivy sleep. Less boring. I’ll come by later.” He says, and with that, he leaves the room again.

“I do miss… some of it.” I confess after I notice Minho’s gaze on me again. “I miss early morning training with you and Lix, or the stupid little fights with Hyunjin and Sky and Han. Oh God, I even miss Changbin’s lame flirting. Imagine.” I exclaim, and both of us start laughing.

“What about Jeongin? I’m gonna rip him a new one when I see him.”

“No, don’t. He’s a good kid.”

“Not anymore, he’s not. You should see him now. He’s a shell of himself. I sometimes think he’s even worse than Chris. And Emi, you should see Chris. He’s bad. He’s been listening to She’s gone by Steelheart and Scorpions’ Lonely Nights on repeat, and then he denies thinking about you. Your name is actually taboo in the house.”

“Sucks to be him, I guess.” I say, but I don’t feel happy about it for some reason.

How twisted is this? You should wish the worst upon the person who does to you what Chris did to me.

Inexplicably, I can’t bring myself to truly hate him. The only thing I feel about everything that happened is this heart-wrenching sorrow, a void that can’t be filled. And I still don’t want to see him again. I’m not ready to, and I don’t think I’ll ever be.

“What is up with Jeongin, though?” I try to change the subject from anything Chris-related. I don’t want to think about him or the hurt he’s caused. I don’t want to think about how I’ve been living as if I’m on thin ice, trying to brace myself to take another step forward with fear in my heart that the ice is going to break and I’m going to fall back in despair’s arms.

I want to forget how fast my heart started beating when I heard Minho’s voice and I thought Chris finally decided to follow through with his promise to ruin my life when my world’s sweetest.

Who knew he actually thought I was dead all this time?

“Jeongin is… not doing very well, Emilia. Sure, he's still a talented doctor. He does his job flawlessly. But…”

“But what?”

“He’s scaring the shit out of us, that young punk.” Minho laughs. “You should see his eyes. They’re the eyes of a true cold-hearted murderer. He’s no longer the kid you knew.”

“That’s a shame. His innocence was what I loved most about him.” I smile absentmindedly and try to recall Jeongin’s smile. I look back on the time we spent together walking in the gardens, eating dinner or watching movies, and my heart aches with longing. I miss that Jeongin.

“Didn’t we all change, though?”

“I don’t know. You seem the same to me.” I shrug.

“Really?” Minho smirks.

“Except for the wife part. Never thought you’d fall in love. If you love her, of course.”

“You and I both. I do love her. She’s the centre of my universe now.”

“I wonder if she’s having a happy dream.” I look at the unconscious woman on my sofa briefly.

“I hope she does. She deserves it, after you fucking hit her.” Minho chuckles. “I’ll forgive you if you apologise to her.”

“Sure, whatever. But really, teach her how to fight. It’s a must know in your world.”

“Really, she knows how to. You just took her by surprise. She’s gonna be so upset that she couldn’t see it coming, but I’m glad. It was a good lesson for her.”

“What, did she insist on going on missions with you?”

“For a little while.” Minho nods. “Maybe she won’t anymore. I hope she won’t, at least.”

“It’s still a useful skill even if she does or doesn’t.”

“Are you planning on teaching your daughter how to fight, then?”

“Maybe. But I’m not part of that world anymore.”

“Aren’t you?” He raises an eyebrow. “I don’t know, Emilia… I don’t think any of us actually gets out of this world. Even if we try to leave it behind… it stays with us.”

I ponder on his words for a little while, and then I nod.

“It does.”

He’s right.

Even almost 4 years after leaving the mafia life behind, some things stayed the same. There are guns or other weapons hidden in every other drawer of this very house, just in case we need them; I always look over my shoulder, no matter where we go, and it’s hard to fully relax outside the confines of my home. I’m wary of everyone, and it’s still easy to notice the people lurking in the shadows.

“You also changed, Emilia.” Minho says all of a sudden.

“Yeah, I trust people less.”

He lets out a soft chuckle. “You always had trouble trusting people.”

“I guess so.” I laugh along, but it’s one of those laughs that gets ripped from your throat and you force it out.

“So, how did you end up here, Shade?”

I circle the coffee cup with my finger and attentively watch the black liquid.

“Where should I start?” I look at him with a lazy smile.

“… what happened after the night Hyo betrayed you?”

“Well…”

---

Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

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therubyreader · 1 year ago

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My Review of Powerless by Lauren Roberts

See a full list of my book reviews here

*Disclaimer: there will be spoilers later on in the review*

Review Word Count, non-spoiler: 875 Review Word Count Total: 1,553

Hello everyone! It’s my first review of 2024! I have once again fallen victim to the influence of BookTok and read Powerless by Lauren Roberts, after not being able to escape it being recommended to me by essentially everyone and their mother. And this time they’re onto something, they have not disappointed me with this one.

Powerless follows Paedyn Gray, an Ordinary, someone without any powers in a society where being Ordinary is a crime punishable by death, surviving the slums of Ilya by pretending to be a Psychic and stealing to stay alive. One day she unknowingly saves one of the princes and is forced to participate in the Purging Trials, a brutal competition to showcase the powers of the Elite, powers she doesn’t have, while managing to not get caught lest she be killed when they find out what she really is.

Let’s get a couple of things out of the way, first this book is marketed as an enemies to lovers story, which it isn’t. Paedyn and her love interest, Kai (because of course his name is Kai) are rivals in the Trails by circumstance, but like they both take a liking to each other immediately. I saw someone call it insta-love which, sure, but I wouldn’t go that far per se, but there isn’t really an “enemies” thing, Paedyn just dances around the fact she likes Kai for most of the book and this dude is smitten almost immediately. So, sorry to disappoint you all with that one. There is romantic chemistry pretty immediately, but they do have some fist fights and hold knives to each other’s throats also so if you’re into that, wink wonk.

Second, this book is marketed as a mixture of Red Queen and The Hunger Games, which like, I guess. The comparison to The Hunger Games isn’t completely accurate, I mean there are games that can result in death but people dying isn’t a requirement, there are people who participate in the Trials and lose but also stay alive. The comparison to Red Queen though, is very on the nose, if you liked Red Queen and wanted to read a world with a near identical magic system and a very similar plot progression, this is the book for you. I’m saying this as a fan of Red Queen, it is one of my favorite series of all time, but there were a lot of mirrors between it and Powerless, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is something you should be aware of.

I think my biggest complaint with this book was how the magic system wasn’t really explained in depth, there were different classifications between the different types of powers, each had its own cute little name like they do in Red Queen. People with super strength are called Brawnies, or teleporters are called Blinks, or those who can control plants are Blooms (just off the top of my head). While we are told that the plague is what gave certain people cool abilities and fancy hair colors, we don’t really know much else. At least in Red Queen we know that people inherit their father’s power, but in Powerless they don’t seem to have any rhyme or reason. For example, Kitt has a dual ability, cool, why? He’s the only person we know of that has two abilities and everyone is very chill about this though it is out of the norm and never explained. Kai is a Wielder, meaning he can use anyone’s ability if they’re in range, which is mildly related to Kitt’s ability if you think really hard about it and it makes sense since they’re brothers, but their dad is Brawny? You’ve lost me there. Also, what made certain people have abilities and others be Ordinary, why are Ordinaries still being born, like how does that work genetically if both their parents have abilities. I don’t know, maybe it’s just a me thing where I’m thinking too hard about it, but I do honestly hope that the rest of the series goes into this a bit more since I crave answers. This was probably done on purpose, and we’ll get Ordinary lore further down the line and lore about abilities as a whole, which is a selling point to get you to keep reading, but I would’ve appreciated a small bit of lore as I read. I shouldn’t have had this many questions about the magic system while reading since it did pull me away from the story a bit.

I did enjoy the book despite my mild complaints, the story was entertaining enough for me to keep me reading even though I could essentially predict what was going to happen next since it follows a very basic YA plot progression and the characters were, mostly, fun to read about. Honestly, for a debut book, it was fairly well written, and I don’t have very many complaints on the writing style outside of the typical cliches, but I’m reading a YA book so I cannot complain. Overall, it was very enjoyable, though nothing groundbreaking, and I plan on reading the sequel when it comes out later this year, I give it an honestly pretty decent entertainment out of ten.

Spoilers!!

Normally I start the spoiler part of my review talking about something negative, but I have decided, new year new me, for now, and I’ll talk about something that I liked. I did enjoy the emphasis on the eye colors, which at first is super annoying because you’re like “omg can they stop talking about each other’s eyes we get it” but as the book goes on the eye color becomes super important. When Kai first meets Paedyn, he’s fascinated by how blue her eyes are and she always talks in detail about his gray eyes, while when she meets Kitt she can’t look him in the eyes since he has his father’s green eyes and Paedyn’s father was killed by the king so she sees the eyes of a killer whenever she looks at Kitt. As the story goes on, Paedyn is able to look Kitt in the eyes and starts to see them as his eyes, not his father’s cruel eyes and slowly starts to associate the green eyes with Kitt and not her father’s killer. But then right at the end we learn that it wasn’t actually the king who killed Paedyn’s dad, but Kai, and Paedyn’s dad was the first person he ever killed. So then the whole thing is flipped on its head! Paedyn realizes she had been hallucinating the king killing her dad (which like I get the trauma, but she was too weird about the green eye thing for me to just pretend she had never seen the king before but I’m not going to worry about it) when it was actually Kai. She had spent the whole book lovingly staring into the eyes of her father’s killer, and we find out in Kai’s bonus chapter that he took note of Paedyn’s dad’s blue eyes as he killed him and then was practically writing poems about Paedyn’s eyes. And then Kitt is for sure there.

Speaking of Kitt, I’m excited to see him enter his villain era, though poor guy just doesn’t know what��s going on which is honestly a type of villain that is underrated. Unlike Red Queen where you could tell pretty immediately that the goal the entire time was to get rid of the monarchy, it’s a bit more ambiguous in Powerless because Kitt is genuinely a nice guy who wants to do better but unfortunately his dad was assassinated and he’s a little confused. There is honestly a lot of room for his character to develop and I think that’s what I’m most looking forward to in the next one.

I do have to complain though, because this is who I am as a person. The thing that annoyed me the most was the love triangle (which if this isn’t your first time here you know about my hatred for love triangles) but this one specifically since it’s between two brothers, which is just icky. To paraphrase myself in one of my Goodreads updates (shameless plug) if I had a nickel for every time I read a book where a love triangle involves a pair of half-brothers, I’d have three nickels which isn’t a lot but I’m a little annoyed it’s happened three times. I honestly cannot put my finger on as to why I hate it so much, maybe because it has an incest-y vibe about it, but I just do not like it Sam I am.

Not to keep word vomiting, I will stop there, but I am honestly willing to talk more about Powerless if you jump into my asks, I did very much enjoy the book despite all my complaining. I could also go into a whole thing where I compare it to Red Queen if anyone asks me nicely because I do have thoughts about that, but this is not the space for it. I cannot wait for Reckless and am very excited to see where the story takes us next!

#val's book reviews #powerless #powerless book #powerless lauren roberts #lauren roberts #book review #booktok #bookblr

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thephoenixandthecrocodile · 10 months ago

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My thoughts on Rings of Power Episodes 4 and 5 before I watch Episode 6

Episode 4

Overall episode 4 is definitely a filler episode or b storyline episode and I’m fine with that. Sometimes, as a writer, you accept that that one chapter isn’t as strong as the rest. That being said I wonder if the scenes that make up this episode might have felt better pacing wise if worked into other episodes instead of cramming the filler all in one episode?

That being said, I love the developing relationship between Isildur and Arondir. I know Arondir has to die sometime between now and the end of the series because otherwise Isildur would have destroyed the one ring.

I also love Isildur’s developing arc where he seems to become a spokesperson for the southlanders to Numenor whenever he returns. I imagine both Elendil and Miriel and the rest of Numenor want nothing more to do with the southlands and I can see Isildur campaigning their cause, similar to how Boromir campaigns Gondor’s cause to Aragorn: “yes there is frailty in men but there is also strength and courage.”

Estrid as a character herself is meh, but what she represents is really interesting in context of the bigger story. You can’t expect everyone to be suicidally brave all the time. People want to survive. To paraphrase another franchise, “Just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn't mean they're lost forever.”

Oooh Isildur you’re such a disaster. Only you would stumble upon the bog of eternal stench

“We shall call this lunch.” XD

Rory Kinnear! As someone who is not a huge Tom Bombadil fan (don’t kick me out of the fandom), I was more excited that Rory Kinnear was in this show than the character he was playing. That being said, I liked his portrayal of Tom especially the mind games “Is anyone else with here with you?” “You’re here, right? At least I think you are.”

Also, I didn’t mention this last time, but the whole “no one can give you a name, it finds you” bit is so trans coded.

Also, Gandalf you have like ten million names, so don’t start XD

And I would die for that lamb, Iawain I think their name is.

Stoors! Future Hobbiton!

HOLY SHIT ENTWIVES!!!! The Ents have always been my favorite part of the Lord of the Rings universe and to see an Entwife! I want to cry!

I would die for Winterbloom. She can do and has done no wrong. I support her murderous rampage against all tree enemies

That scene with Arondir and Winterbloom: forgiveness takes an age. It had me near tears. And “do you think they know peace?” It was so beautiful and gentle and so Tolkienesque. It was absolutely perfect.

I’m really curious how Theo’s storyline is going to develop. I can see him becoming one of Isildur’s trusted knights. Season 1 I was convinced he’d end up as a nazgul, but this season I’m not so sure.

The bickering between Galadriel and Elrond was fun, but also put aside your pride and be friends again! You need each other!

Poor Elrond feeling responsible for Brimby’ fate ☹

The barrow wrights were fun. It was cute that this was basically everything Peter Jackson cut out of the first half of Fellowship minus Glorfindel.

I swear Elrond’s hair grows poofier the more stressed he is

“According to lore…” Elrond, you big nerd

Not enough Adar this episode.

Episode 5:

Dwarves!

Argh, Durin III you drive me crazy. I want to like you but also you are a stubborn ass

Love the whispers that occur when Durin III takes one of the rings.

Also love that the dwarven ring is like crack for Durin III. Let me make a huge hole in the foundational way, let me introduce a new tax system, alienate all my allies by demanding half of their wealth in exchange for these awesome rings, and forgive my son while discounting his wife’s opinions all in one day

Also love the sheer terror in Durin IV and Narvi’s faces as Durin III almost brings down a foundational wall XD

And those dwarf miners are so me. Get to go home early? Don’t have to tell me twice

And that’s going to come back and bit them in the ass right? You can’t just weaken a foundational wall and expect nothing bad to happen, right? (I know nothing of construction, but I feel like that’s a bad idea)

That Khazad……DUM was pretty awesome

I love this idea of the resonating being a gift from Aule, a skill that has been passed down generations and is this time honored traditional that belongs to the dwarves and then these rings come in and try to replicate that power but whereas resonating is having a conversation with the mountain, the ring just pierces through the mountain and sees what the wear wants to see. It’s an interesting commentary on how outsider will try to appropriate indigenous skills without truly understanding its purpose or how it works or how it helps maintain balance within the ecosystem

Also can I say one more time for those who missed it DISA IS MY QUEEN AND GODDESS. I WILL DIE FOR HER

Sauron is soooooo done with this gathering it’s hilarious. He is me during any and every work meeting

Ah Brimby and Narvi having a moment together. So sweet

DOORS OF DURIN BABY!!!!

Guarded by a password known only to “friends”. Eh, eh, get it? Haha

So I know Sauron really left because he doesn’t care about the doors, but I also choose to believe he left because he was jealous of the banter between Celebrimbor and Narvi XD

Oooh this balcony scene is painful because of the levels of gaslighting.

“You don’t always listen. Once you have an idea set in your head” – god I’ve heard things similar to that so many times from my own abusers.

“It is a game you play, is it not? Sowing seeds in others’ minds and then convincing them that the fruit is of their own thought.” - Brimby is starting to get it, but too late. :(

Also I love that Celebrimbor is so fond and protective of his dwarf friends. “this is a night for dwarves” and then later when Sauron tries to cast doubt on Durin III’s character, Brimby says such a strong NO! So different from the relationship between dwarves and Elves in the third age, when an Elf would probably be more likely ot distrust Durin III instead of the rings themselves.

Celebrimbor may be a dwarf man but he does NOT like men (the race, not the gender haha)

Also love how queer the relationship between Celebrimbor and Annatar is. As much as I’d love to see an official queer couple in LOTR world, I also love how often Patrick and Payne queer-code things. They seem really open to the idea of queerness in Tolkien, so maybe we’ll see a queer couple some day?

Nine rings?! Yeah, it does seem like a lot, right? I thought so when I first read the poem XD

“Fine, I’ll do it myself” poutness activated!

Also, Brimby, dear, when did you lose control over your own forge? Do you even know how that happened?

Fucking Pharazon and Kemen. Hope a sea monster eats the both of you

Also Pharazon makes the most demented grandpa/santa claus face right before ruining his son’s life

Seriously who tells their son, “hey, did you know your mother said you were going to die horribly” while breast feeding you that one time? Like WTF? Would have felt bad for Kemen IF THE REST OF THIS EPISODE DIDN’T HAPPEN

Elendil, darling, what are you doing in the queen’s bedchamber in the middle of the night?

Also, I’m not usually a shipper, but every time Elendil and Miriel are in a scene together I’m like:

Also poor Miriel trying so hard to do what is right. Terrified to do anything that could jeopardize her people’s future

The chest touching, the arm grabbing, the hand touching. You two are soooo in love, you dorks

Fucking Kemen and Earien

I LOVE that Elendil spends this entire scene thinking, “can punch the kid. Think of what Miriel said. Really want to punch this kid. No, no. Keep calm, keep calm.” XD

Ok Earien and Elendil need some family counseling. They’re both grieving and so they’re lashing out but also “and yet overthrowing a queen earned you a promotion” and “you’re path is made of seawater” is soooooo cold, Elendil

I’m annoyed with Earien but I understand her and I feel bad for her. She’s truly alone because her Dad and oldest friend don’t do feelings and her brother is dead and the other one is Eru Iluvatar knows where. (also is anyone going to tell Anarion that Isildur is “dead”?)

But seriously, Earien, you can do better than Kemen

Gil-Galad’s vision!!!

Run, Elrond, run!

Edna Mode: No capes!

Disa! Disa! Disa, just let the rock go! It’s not worth it! You’re going to give me a heart attack!

Nothing bad can happen to Disa, you hear me Patrick and JD?

The Watcher? It has to be the Watcher right? I can’t see the Balrog hanging around a pool of water

Just thinking about Arondir’s relationship with the tree he had to cut down in season 1 and his conversation with Winterbloom and Disa’s personal relationship with the mountain and the importance of respecting your own environment and ecosystem

Also, it’s tragic how these rings bring so much hope to those who receive them/make them and we all know what they will truly wrought. The downfall of so many people/kingdoms

“Who set these restricts?!” Haven’t we all been there? We made rules ages ago and then we’re like wait who’s the mook who made these rules up? XD

Love the small panic about misplacing the ring and its heaviness

Durin IV will put up with a lot old man, but don’t you dare disagree with Disa! She is ALWAYS right

When will people LISTEN to Durin IV!!! FFS

Celebrimbor’s little anvil paperweight is so cute :3

Do you think Sauron was insulted when Mirdania called him stinky? XD

Also, I like the hint that even though Celebrimbor is “old” looking, he’s still got quick reflexes and prowess as he dodges and counters Mirdania’s attacks.

Also, that look on Celebrimbor’s face when Mirdania explains what they were doing. I think he is taken aback not just because of what they did but also because, potentially, that is something Annatar should have known was dangerous and how to counter the negative effects. They’ve made ten rings together already. Surely Annatar of all people should know how volatile and fussy mithril can be.

Also fucking Annatar being all, “we could really use your help” *puppy dog eyes*

Seriously WHEN WILL PEOPLE LISTEN TO DURIN IV

Also love that other people just call him Durin the younger XD

Sauron just doesn’t know how to flirt, does he? Let me compare you to my ex-girlfriend. That will win you over, right? Also, your boss is secretly that flaming, stinky thing you saw. Just trust me on this

“Meet again in a far green country under a sweet sunrise” *cries*

Elendil puts a clam for Isildur and it ends up being for Valandil *cries*

FUCKING KEMEN, YOU LITTLE SHIT!

“It’s in the way of the new aqueduct” Ok, that line reading made me laugh

HOW DARE YOU DESTROY THAT RELIC!! KEMEN YOU LITTLE SHIT

Elendil FINALLY punching the little shit

“May the Valar forgive me.”

Meanwhile the Valar are eating their popcorn and chanting: “punch the little shit. Punch the little shit.”

“Put it down, son” *cries*

VALANDIL NO!!!! KEMEN YOU LITTLE SHIT!!!

The washing away of the blood – just KEMEN YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!!!

So Isildur’s eventual return to Numenor is going to be realllllllllly awkward

“Just be mindful someone is not manipulating you” Sauron, you little shit

Poor Brimby, so terrified of questioning Annatar, but having to do it for his dwarf friends

And then Annatar’s all like, “While you lied, so it’s your fault.” Such a little shit

I really feel like Celebrimbor wants to say, “But I lie to my cousin all the time. It’s what family does, after all haha.”

I also love that Annatar’s like, well the dwarven rings were made under a cloak of deception and that’s bad, so let’s just finish the nine since we’re in hell anyway and Brimby’s just like, “Yes, the trauma and depression agrees with you.”

Poor Durin and Disa. They just want to do what’s right for their people and their king. :(

Also that need flourish to the dwarven theme kicks ass. Well down Bear McCreary

Poor Brimby. Lashing out at his artists because he can’t come out and admit what he did and all that guilt and shame eating him from the inside out. He needs Durin IV to move in with him and call bullshit whenever Annatar speaks

“The nine must redeem us all” *Cries* You did nothing wrong, Brimby, except trust a random man who did an impressive lightshow and called himself a messenger from the gods. Yeah…that wasn’t your best moment haha

And then the trembling hands because he knows something is wrong, he just can’t figure it out and he knows he’s to blame but he can’t understand why. *cries*

Charles Edwards is going to break me in the next few episodes as we get closer to the end.

I love how Gil-Galad is like we can’t defeat both Sauron’s and Adar’s armies and that’s it. End of scene. It’s like, do you have a plan? Are you going to do anything besides look pretty and depressed?

Adar! Adar! Adar!

Why does Adar look so turned on by Galadriel holding a knife to his neck? XD

#rings of power spoilers #the rings of power #rop season 2 #rop spoilers #rings of power season 2

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